Cross-Strait Relations: A Conflict in Slow Motion?

Mats Engman and Larissa Stünkel

Issue & Policy Briefs August, 2021, pp. 13

Abstract

Xi Jinping’s much-anticipated centennial speech left little doubt that it remains “an unshakeable commitment” for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to resolve the Taiwan issue. With the global pandemic creating new opportunities for international cooperation and Taiwan becoming a role model in effectively mitigating the effects of Covid-19 domestically, current President Tsai Ing-wen has been able to shore up considerable support. Meanwhile, Beijing’s relations with the international community have grown more strained and the new Biden administration doubled down on its security commitments to Taipei. With all eyes on the Taiwan Strait, the question will be whether tensions might escalate in the short term, or the threat perception is in fact overstated, with current developments resembling a new iteration of the late 1990s cross-strait crisis.

 

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