To China’s government, the rightful territorial integrity of the country is threatened when a company or country recognizes Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau as separate from China.
Airlines, for instance, have earned Chinese ire for listing those destinations separately from their destinations in mainland China. The government demanded that airlines change those maps and search listings by July 25, today, or possibly face state-supported boycotts and potential changes to their operating permits within China. This economic threat, despite earlier White House dismissals of the demand as “Orwellian nonsense,” was enough to make even U.S. airlines change their maps – albeit, with a compromise.
On Wednesday, U.S. airlines listed just cities, without a territorial designation, for the disputed destinations.
This muddy solution mirrors U.S. policy of ambiguity towards Taiwan, the democratic and self-governing island claimed by China. The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which we officially consider part of Mainland China. Instead, the U.S. bases its relationship with the island on the Taiwan Relations Act establishing relations with the “people on Taiwan.”
In reality, this stance has allowed Washington to navigate tense cross-strait relations between Taiwan and China while still maintaining diplomatic relationships with Beijing. This political maneuvering is necessary, as Beijing refuses diplomatic ties with anyone who officially recognizes Taiwan.
The Trump administration has carried on this legacy but also bolstered U.S. relations with Taiwan. He was the first president or president-elect to speak with Taiwan’s leader since 1979, he signed the Taiwan Travel Act allowing official and high-level visits and, in June, the U.S. unveiled a new compound for the American Institute in Taiwan with a cost of $250 million. The American Institute acts as a de facto embassy and is primarily staffed by U.S. diplomats. The U.S. has also historically supplied Taiwan’s military.
In a similar show of force against Beijing’s demand to airlines, the White House initially said that Trump “will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens.”
But it seems the administration provided nothing more powerful rhetoric, as major U.S. carriers have now adapted their websites to accommodate China’s demands.
As China will likely continue to flex its economic power to force adherence to its geopolitical world view, the situations, especially those of territories claimed by China, that the U.S. has so far been able to navigate with ambiguous polices, will likely become more difficult. The White House must be prepared for this reality, especially if China were to enforce its claims with military power, and have more than words against China’s ambitions.
