The G 20 Summit was a significant event in Bali, Indonesia, between Chinese President Xi Jinping and United States President Joe Biden, and gave the two countries the chance to clarify their positions and bottom lines in dealing with bilateral relations.
The meeting took place at all, showing a shared interest in avoiding misjudgment and instilling stability and predictability into the recently volatile relationship. As the Chinese leader told his counterpart, it takes efforts from both sides to maintain constructive engagement.
What is going on in Washington regarding Taiwan, and it is clearly against the kind of healthy, manageable China-US interaction that the two leaders stated they aspired to in Bali.
During their face-to- face talks, the Chinese president reiterated to his US counterpart that Taiwan is at the heart of China's core national interests, constitutes the foundation of the political foundation of China-US relations, and is therefore the first redline that must not be crossed. Citing Biden's repeated claim of not supporting independence for Taiwan, he urged the latter to honor his words with deeds.
Just a few weeks after saying that the US government is committed to the one-China policy, the Biden administration signed off on the sale of a fresh package of arms worth more than $425 million to the island, mainly spare aircraft parts for Taiwan's military.
This may not seem like such an escalation in US arms sales to Taiwan that the package itself would result in a conspicuous blow to the already frayed ties. Washington will insist that there will be no change to its one-China policy no matter how Beijing protests, but it is damaging to overall bilateral ties as it is outright interference in China's domestic affairs at a sensitive time. This is only a small token of US military support for the island compared to what is going to happen.
The Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act, which is included in the National Defense Authorization Act, the US Senate and House Armed Services committees just unveiled, is expected to be approved by Congress and signed into law this month. This will be a bigger blow for the two countries' relations as US military intervention in Taiwan will cause an escalation in the U.S. military intervention in the country's affairs.
The proposed legislation promises up to $2 billion in military grants for Taiwan from 2023 to 2027 to boost the island's military capabilities.
The US moves are adding fuel to the fire because Western politicians are creating a hullabaloo over an imminent mainland invasion of Taiwan, and independence seekers on the island are becoming increasingly bold in their efforts to push the envelope.
If Washington is serious about crisis management, it must see the dangers of such stunts and practice restraint. The China challenge that they are clamoring about may blind them to the truth on the ground and lead them onto a dangerous track of confrontation that is in neither country's interest.