PREVIEW - US Health Secretary To Visit Taiwan Amid Escalating Tensions With China

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2020) US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Sunday for an official visit, which is likely to further strain bilateral relations between the United States and China.

The planned visit will mark the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official to Taiwan since 1979 when Washington switched its official recognition to Beijing and established formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

Official relations between central Chinese authorities and Taiwan stopped in 1949 when the Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taipei after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party, establishing the Republic of China on the island. Informal contacts resumed in the 1980s. Beijing does not recognize Taiwanese independence and claims the island is part of China. Taiwan similarly does not recognize the central government in Beijing.

The United States, along with many other countries, does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation and officially sticks to the "One China" policy. Nevertheless, Washington has kept informal relations with the island nation after severing diplomatic ties with it in 1979.

Amid growing tensions between the United States and China over a wide range of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Chinese law on Hong Kong and territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Azar's visit is likely to further strain bilateral relations between the world's two largest economies.

In response to the US Department of Health and Human Services' statement on the planned visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin has already expressed strong opposition to the planned visit.

"China firmly opposes any official interactions between the US and Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear. China has made stern representations with the US side both in Beijing and in Washington." Wang said during a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

However, Azar stressed that his visit would be focused on cooperation in global health.

"Taiwan has been a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during the COVID-19 pandemic and long before it. I look forward to conveying President Trump's support for Taiwan's global health leadership and underscoring our shared belief that free and democratic societies are the best model for protecting and promoting health. This trip represents an opportunity to strengthen our economic and public health cooperation with Taiwan, especially as the United States and other countries work to strengthen and diversify our sources for crucial medical products," he said in the statement released by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Political analysts suggested that Azar's visit could be part of the Trump administration's plan to put more pressure on Beijing.

"The United States wants to decouple with China and that seems to have become a consensus between both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Azar's visit will be an official visit and he may even meet with [Taiwan President] Tsai Ing-wen. A top Taiwan official could also follow up with an official visit to the United States and make it a highly public event. The United States could even begin to support Taiwan to join various international organizations," Xu Guoqi, a history professor specializing in US-China relations at Hong Kong University, told Sputnik.

The expert argued that the United States would not shy away from military standoffs if Beijing decides to respond harshly to the visit.

"The Americans are not afraid of accident military conflicts anymore. This is very different from the situation in 1995 when then US Secretary of Defense [William] Perry was shocked to learn that both sides were almost at war. That's why both sides made compromises back then. But the US strategy today is very different. Before, the United States wanted to avoid hurting relations with China because of Taiwan. But today, the United States is no longer worried about this," he said.