Give or take: The US blocked military aid to Taiwan in exchange for TikTok
Amid the cooling of relations between the United States and China, American lawmakers met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing for the first time in six years. Shortly before that, there were reports that the White House had blocked $400 million in military aid to Taiwan. But the parties agreed to transfer ownership of the American divisions of the TikTok social network under the control of the United States. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The ice broke
American lawmakers met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing for the first time in six years. Shortly before that, there were reports that the White House had blocked $400 million in military aid to Taiwan, but the parties agreed to transfer ownership of the American divisions of the TikTok social network under US control.
Welcoming the delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, Li Qiang said that the parties are ready for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Ro Khanna, a member of the House of Representatives Committee on the Armed Forces from the Democratic Party, poses for a photo with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang at the Great House of the People in Beijing.
"We hope that the American side will move towards the Chinese side in order to jointly promote bilateral relations along the right path of development. China and the United States should be partners in mutual development, treat each other sincerely, strengthen each other and help each other achieve success," he said.
The visit of American colleagues to China was considered "breaking the ice" in the relations between the two countries, and maintaining stable, healthy and sustainable relations between the United States and China is in line with the interests and expectations of the international community.
Before that, the delegation of the House of Representatives flew to China in 2019, four years later only a few senators flew to China.
This time, the American delegation was led by Adam Smith, a member of the Armed Services Committee, a Democrat from Washington State. He said that the talks would primarily focus on trade and the economy, but he was most concerned about the lack of contacts between the Chinese and American armies. According to him, these are the two most powerful world powers, so it is necessary that they "get along and peacefully coexist."
Taipei city view
In parallel with the visit of American lawmakers to China, Western media reported that US President Donald Trump blocked military aid to Taiwan for $ 400 million, which caused great concern in Taipei. Instead of direct support, the American leader insists that Taiwan should buy American weapons under commercial contracts, rather than receive them as part of military assistance programs.
The island fears that Washington has decided to use Taipei as a bargaining chip in a trade dispute with China. But, according to The Washington Post, the American leader may reconsider his decision.
The Summit meeting
On September 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Trump, following which the US president announced plans to meet with Xi Jinping at the APEC summit, which will be held in South Korea in late October, and about a trip to China next year.
According to Trump, the conversation was very successful. In particular, Washington assessed trade issues, the end of the Ukrainian conflict and the approval of the TikTok deal. Beijing also said it was pleased with the dialogue, as the conversation between the two leaders was "positive and constructive, and the parties discussed issues of common interest." At the same time, Xi Jinping reminded his American counterpart that Washington should avoid unilateral restrictions on trade.
The transfer of ownership of the American divisions of the TikTok social network under the control of Washington became part of the trade negotiations that took place in Madrid in the middle of the month. Then China and the United States reached a framework agreement on this issue.
According to Reuters, the parties have agreed that TikTok's American assets will be controlled by a consortium of investors. It will include, in particular, Oracle, headed by businessman Larry Ellison, whom Donald Trump knows well.
A new company will be created to manage TikTok, about 80% of its shares will be owned by American investors, the rest by Chinese shareholders. The majority of the board of directors will belong to Americans, one of the members will be appointed by the American government.
After Donald Trump's return to the White House, the US position on Taiwan has changed markedly. Feeling the cooling, Taipei has increased defense spending, and by 2030 it plans to bring it to a record 5% of GDP.
What do the experts think
At the upcoming APEC summit in South Korea, the Chinese and American leaders can discuss a large number of issues, Andrei Kortunov, scientific director of the Russian International Affairs Council, told Izvestia.
— There is little hope of concluding any high-tech agreements. The Trump administration believes that limiting the supply of advanced technology could slow down China's development, so the war is likely to continue on this issue, the political scientist believes.
In his opinion, agreements are possible in the trade sphere, as there are mutual interests and concerns that both countries will suffer if trade ties are completely severed.
Taiwan usually always paid for American weapons, Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explained in an interview with Izvestia.
— Trump, because he doesn't like the idea of providing gratuitous aid to anyone other than Israel, cut off this aid to Taiwan. At the same time, contracts worth tens of billions of dollars are being implemented, and all this is going its own way," the political scientist explained.
The expert recalled the meeting between Biden and Xi at the San Francisco economic summit in 2023.
— During this meeting, they agreed on some rules of the game. Realizing that their relationship is a relationship of adversaries, they decided which things should not be done and which can be done. These agreements held for a while, but they began to collapse by the end of 2024 due to the actions of the Biden administration. And when Trump came, everything fell apart, and a fight without rules began," the specialist emphasized.
According to him, this harms both sides, so both Washington and Beijing are interested in reaching some kind of limited agreement.
— There is a certain level of mutual dependence, primarily due to technological chains. China and the United States would like to sort this out somehow. I think this is what the meeting will be dedicated to, so as not to block the supply of some vital materials to each other. China, for example, is very dependent on American equipment and components for civil aviation, while the United States depends on Chinese rare earth metals. That's what they'll agree on," the political scientist concluded.
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