SHANGHAI, January 23. /TASS/. The US policy on the Taiwan issue under President Donald Trump will not change in general, but he may make some adjustments, Chen Shiliang, head of the secretariat of the Institute of Taiwan Studies at the East China Normal University (ECNU), told TASS.
"After Trump's latest rise to power, China-US relations do not inspire optimism. Trump is a person who pays attention to maximizing profits, and he can do anything for the sake of profits. Overall, the US policy on the Taiwan issue will not change. They will just adjust their methods according to the real situation," the expert said.
According to Chen Shiliang, China will stick to its strategy of reunification with Taiwan. "China will not pin any hopes on Trump on the Taiwan issue. China will maintain its own strategic resolve, stick to its own principles, and use all its sincerity and strength to resolve the Taiwan issue to achieve the goal of national reunification," he pointed out.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists took power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established relations with China. While recognizing the one-China policy, Washington continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei government. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier. The Chinese Foreign Ministry estimates that the total amount of US military supplies to the island has exceeded $70 billion over the years.