A victory for presumptive Republican presidential candidate former US president Donald Trump would result in uncertainty in Asia, but not fundamentally change competition between the US and China, Japan’s top diplomat in Taiwan Kazuyuki Katayama said yesterday.
Katayama, chief representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Taipei Office, made the remark during a meeting of the Third Wednesday Club in Taipei, hours after Trump was asked in an interview with Bloomberg whether the US would defend Taiwan and he suggested that Taipei should pay for defense.
The club’s membership is limited to the top 100 firms in each sector of the Taiwanese economy.
Photo: CNA
The US’ increasingly hardline stance toward Beijing stems from a bipartisan consensus in Washington, not the opinions of one person or party, he said.
Expectations as to what would happen if Trump were to win differ, with some voicing concern that the real-estate mogul would take a transactional approach and try striking a bargain with China over Taiwan, while others believe he would continue US President Joe Biden’s policies of competing against Beijing, he said.
No matter whether Trump or Biden wins, the rivalry between the US and China is unlikely to change, Katayama said.
Under conditions in which the US and China are competing, Japan’s foreign affairs strategy would be based on its need to balance the economic and cultural benefits of doing business with Beijing and protecting national security, he said.
This requires Tokyo to have no illusions regarding China’s motives, take measures to avoid misunderstanding and possess sufficient capabilities to counter adventurism from Beijing, Katayama said.
Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) said on the sidelines of the event that a resurgence of protectionism under Trump might lead to inflation in Taiwan.
Taiwan cannot dismiss the possibility that if Trump were to return to the White House, he might launch a tariff war capable of driving up inflation and sending the global economy into a downturn, he said.
Acer Inc CEO Jason Chen (陳俊聖) said that his company would buy chips from whichever sources were at hand, be it Taiwan or the US.
The Taiwanese semiconductor industry owes its successful development to government policy, the sector’s resilience, the hard work of talented people and careful cost management, club chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said.
These conditions cannot be easily replicated in foreign countries, he said, adding that Taiwan needs to monitor the US presidential election’s impact on cross-strait relations.
Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Co vice president Huang Wen-ching (黃文清) said given that Trump’s chance to win the US election is pretty high now, many of his policies and stances could be implemented.
“There is some level of concern priced in, though I won’t say there’s a panic,” he told Bloomberg.
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