This briefing considers heightened tensions in the region and the Trump administration’s more forceful China Policy in the context of recent developments within Taiwan’s domestic politics, the current status of its relationship with the US and China, and its efforts to increase its presence in the international community.

The recommendations presented in this paper are based on two roundtable discussions the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) organised in October and December 2018, and on discussions with former and current U.S. and foreign government officials, business leaders, and policy experts.

This paper argues that the Chinese Communist Party sees the reintegration of Taiwan with the mainland as a sacred duty. As such, any declaration of Taiwanese independence would be a red line to Beijing, irrespective of whether Taiwan had foreign assistance in that endeavour or not.

This paper makes the case that Canadian policy-makers may not fully appreciate the pitfalls of pursuing free trade with China.

The Strategic Multilayer Assessment's 'Future of Great Power Competition and Conflict' project is researching how the United States might strategize to defend its global interests. This paper supports the project in deriving some grand strategy alternatives specifically related to China (twelve) and Russia (ten).