December 6, 2016

"Responding to criticism over his phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen - the first such contact since Beijing and Washington established diplomatic ties in 1979 and causing a shock to the diplomatic circles - US President-elect Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday, 'Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the U.S. doesn't tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don't think so!'

It's not surprising Trump blasted China again over the currency issue. But his mention of the South China Sea is a shock. During the election campaign, Trump only talked about the South China Sea issue once. He claimed China's construction activities are 'because they have no respect for our president and they have no respect for our country.'

For observers on Sino-US relations, in addition to the Taiwan question they now have a new concern about Trump's policy: the South China Sea dispute. Will this hot spot in the competition between China and the US during the Barack Obama term be stirred up again in the Trump era? We cannot interpret Trump's South China Sea policy based on one or two of his tweets, but need to analyze the president-elect's diplomatic logic, his views on China and the status quo of the South China Sea."

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