2/10/2017

CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY: “China’s wait-and-see approach to U.S. President Donald Trump’s periodic diplomatic outbursts has paid off with the president dropping his threat to upend a cornerstone of Beijing-Washington relations.
After weeks of several phone run-ins with world leaders, Mr. Trump committed to a longstanding agreement that the U.S. won’t recognize Taiwan diplomatically in a phone call with President Xi Jinping late Thursday [2-9-17]
Beijing, which had made clear to the Trump administration that U.S. adherence to the ‘One China’ policy was an inviolable precondition for relations, praised Mr. Trump’s change of heart. Mr. Xi expressed his appreciation during the call, according to the official Xinhua News agency.”

 – Te-ping Chen, “Beijing’s Patience Pays Off With Trump’s Reaffirmation of ‘One-China’ Policy,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 10, 2017