While China has downplayed the impact of the phone conversation between incoming US President Donald Trump and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen, Beijing will continue to be cautious about the movements of the new American administration. It can be recalled that the newly-elected leader's communication with Taipei has stirred controversy regarding the Mainland's 'One-China policy.'
Although a long-standing political protocol has been breached, observers believe that a major change in US foreign policy is not in the horizon. It is highly likely that Washington will sustain its official relations with the Chinese which came into fruition when the US ended diplomatic connections with Taiwan in 1979.
According to Bonnie Glaser, a Senior Adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, aside from keeping a close eye on Trump, it is anticipated that China will issue hints of consequences about similar incidents in the future.
William Stanton, former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, shares that it is possible that the communication patch to Taiwan has been mapped earlier. Complications may have been averted if the gesture was done immediately after Trump's victory at the polls considering that such move can be identified as a congratulatory pitch.
Although a diplomatic protest has been filed, it is intriguing to know how Beijing has kept itself from fuming or overreacting. The giant country may have alleviated the impact through a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang which said that Trump's group knows fully well where China stood position on the issue.
Meanwhile, Shi Yinhong, an expert on US-China relations at Renmin University, points out that Beijing's tolerance indicates goodwill to the new American leader but countermeasures will be implemented if Trump breaches another boundary.
Moreover, Shen Dingli, an International Relations Professor at Fudan University, states that China can use the North Korean sanction, which Beijing supported, in dealing with the new administration.
