Trump Emphasizes the Need to Improve US-China Relations

The elected President of the United States states that his administration will view improving relations with China as one of the most important issues. He also added that China has "not acted according to the rules, and I know, now is the time for them to start doing so." Donald Trump, on December 9, during a speech in Iowa, while reintroducing his ambassador to Beijing, said, "One of the most important relationships we need to improve is our relationship with China." He further stated that China is not a market-based economy: "They have not acted based on the rules, and I know now is the time for them to start doing so." Donald Trump has criticized China's economic policies and the lack of sufficient efforts from Beijing to address North Korea's missile and nuclear development. China and the United States are the two largest economic powers in the world. Following Donald Trump's election and his phone conversation with Tsai Ing-wen, the President of Taiwan, Beijing has protested this action, and media outlets have extensively reacted and analyzed this issue. In the past few decades, following the normalization of relations between the US and China, it was the first time that a President or President-elect of the US spoke with the President of Taiwan. The "Republic of China" (Taiwan) is not recognized as an independent country by most countries in the world, and the People's Republic of China considers it one of its "rebellious" provinces. Reactions in China to his phone conversation with Ms. Tsai continue. Among them, in the "Global Times," the English-language organ of the ruling party, it was stated in an article on Thursday that there is a need to increase military readiness regarding Taiwan and to prepare for "punishing" anyone who "calls for its independence." This publication stated that the government needs to use its wealth to strengthen strategic nuclear weapons and advanced ballistic missiles. However, the "Global Times" also referred to the appointment of Terry Branstad as Trump's ambassador to Beijing and his good relations with Chinese officials, stating that this matter has "complicated" the approach and potential policies towards Washington in the near future. Mr. Trump, in his speech in Iowa, mentioned Terry Branstad, saying he is "a man who knows China well" and added that his chosen ambassador "knows how to get results" and will do so. It is said that Mr. Branstad, the governor of Iowa, has a long-standing friendly relationship with Xi Jinping, the current President of China; Reuters reports that he has traveled to China at least six times, and Mr. Xi has also visited Iowa twice. The elected President of the United States reiterated in his speech on Thursday that his goal is to prioritize the status of American citizens, employees, and workers compared to the labor force and benefits of other regions of the world.