Chinese media mock Trump for ‘running the country with Twitter’

The president-elect has already infuriated China by talking over phone with the Taiwanese President, the first by a top American leader since 1979. “Taiwan’s tiny population means there is no jobs threat”, Scissors says, but Taiwan is also the United States’ ninth-largest trading partner.

The lesson this time for Trump?

As China is one of the U.S.’s biggest trade partners, long-established US foreign protocol makes this phone call erratic.

Such a radical shift in foreign policy could spark an economic standoff with China.

“Is it risky? Absolutely”. Was it China’s aggressive trade policies that are plainly aimed at gaining economic ascendancy over the U.S.?

“It could very easily erupt into warfare”.

Both advisors said the so-called Asia Pivot policy has been a failure under President Barack Obama and has invited Chinese aggression in the East and South China Seas, according to an article published by Foreign Policy magazine in early November.

But rather than mending fences, on December 4 – two days after the call – Trump further defended his action by rebuking China in tweets for its currency manipulation, trade protectionism and military build-up. He gave no details on what President Jimmy Morales and Tsai would discuss.

But Mr. Trump’s fair point is that because China has ignored US interests – and worldwide law – on trade and freedom of navigation, it can’t reasonably object if the USA slights Chinese sensibilities regarding Taiwan. Rohrabacher was reportedly a potential candidate to be the next Secretary of State. “I am not sure how that benefits the U.S. relationship with China”, he said of Trump’s latest behavior. “Others could be dangerously destructive”.

Trump’s detractors disagree. They have charged that Trump does not understand the complexity of foreign policy issues and has been having calls with foreign leaders around the world without consulting experts.

And finally, another user wrote, “He is running the country with Twitter”.

As for Trump’s end game?

“What I can say about that is that that kind of transit is based on long-standing US practice and it’s consistent with the unofficial nature of our relations with Taiwan”, Toner told a regular media briefing.

The barrage of attacks by state media calling Trump diplomatically inexperienced and reckless followed a muted official response yesterday, with the foreign ministry declining to comment on the outburst’s motivation.

The Washington Post pointed out that key figures within Trump’s transition team and incoming administration have strong links with Taiwan, including Trump’s designated chief of staff, Reince Priebus. He insisted that Tsai reached out to him.

And while President Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (she was elected last January) has traditionally leaned toward independence from the mainland, Taiwan’s economy, particularly its manufacturing, is inextricably tied to the mainland. “That’s how wars start”, Murphy tweeted on Friday.

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan recently became the first in her position to make a congratulatory call to the president-elect of the United States. American policy acknowledges the Chinese view that it has sovereignty over Taiwan, yet the USA considers Taiwan’s status as unsettled.

A Taiwan sailor is shown on patrol of the Taiwan Strait in this 2013 file photo.

One tweet says China is building a massive military complex in the South China Sea, while the other says the RMB devaluation makes US domestic companies suffer. He also agreed to “acknowledge” China’s claim to Taiwan.

As for the One-China policy itself, a review may be in order. “And it’s just got to – it’s unsustainable”, he says. “Maintaining co-operation with an increasingly hostile, authoritarian state is not the way to go”.

Adept at using social media since the presidential election, Trump is attempting to use his private channels to freely lash out at critics in the U.S. who said he broke with decades-old diplomatic protocol by talking directly to Tsai, Liu said.