View of the cityscape ahead in Taipei, Taiwan, on January 12, 2024.
Anise Lin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
On Saturday, two days after the Chinese government condemned Taiwan President Lai Ching-de’s speech, the Ministry of Commerce announced that China was considering further trade measures against Taiwan.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has not taken any practical steps to lift “trade restrictions” against mainland China, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its official website.
“Relevant departments are currently considering further measures based on the conclusions of the investigation into trade barriers from Taiwan (to mainland China),” the ministry added.
China, which considers democratically-ruled Taiwan to be its own territory, despises Mr. Li as a “separatist.” Mr. Lai and his government reject Beijing’s claims of sovereignty and insist that only Taiwanese people can decide their own future.
In his National Day keynote speech on Thursday, Lai said that although the People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan, Taiwan is ready to work with the Chinese government to combat challenges such as climate change. He gave off an impression of both a friendly and conciliatory attitude, which drew anger. From China.
Saturday’s announcement by China’s Ministry of Commerce could mean tariffs and other economic pressure on the island in the near future.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Thursday that Lai’s speech promoted “separatist ideology” and incited conflict, but responded to the announcement by saying that the root cause of the trade dispute was “the Democratic Progressive Party authorities. “is firmly adhering to the position of “Taiwan independence,”” he said. ”.
“Due to political grounds, it is difficult to resolve the cross-strait trade dispute through negotiations,” he added.
In May, China reinstated tariffs on 134 items imported from Taiwan after China’s Ministry of Finance announced that it would suspend concessions on items under the trade agreement due to Taiwan’s failure to comply.
The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between China and Taiwan was first signed in 2010, and Taiwanese officials have previously said China could put pressure on Mr. Lai by ending some of the preferential trade terms in the agreement. He told Reuters that there was a high possibility that he would
