The Trump Administration's Adjustment Of Its Taiwan Polic

During President Trump’s presidency,the US made a series of major adjustments in its Taiwan policy,and its intervention and penetration in the Taiwan question were unprecedented.The adjustment of the Trump administration’s Taiwan policy is the result of the interaction of various factors,such as the US strategy to curb China,the change of cross-Straits relations,and the promotion of conservative forces in the US.Under the framework of neoclassical realism,this thesis analyzes the reasons for Trump’s adjustment of Taiwan policy through three variables: international system,domestic politics and the cognition of decision makers.From the perspective of international system factors,the rise of China and the intensified strategic competition between China and the United States,the increasing importance of Taiwan’s contribution to the national interests of the United States and the implementation of Taiwan’s “Alliance with the US to subdue China” policy have formed the external driving force for the Trump administration’s policy adjustment to Taiwan;From the perspective of domestic political factors,the introduction of Taiwan-related bills in the US Congress,the intervention of interest groups and American public opinion have accelerated the adjustment of Taiwan policy;From the perspective of the cognitive factors of policy makers,President Trump’s own anti-establishment and interest-oriented personality characteristics and the coordination of his decision-making team’s Taiwan policy cognition constitute the internal impetus for the policy adjustment of Taiwan.This thesis systematically studies the adjustment measures of the Trump administration on Taiwan policy.In terms of political interaction,the Trump administration has continuously promoted the “quasi-official” relationship between the US and Taiwan region by raising the level of exchanges between Taiwan region officials,promoting the implementation of Taiwan-related laws and integrating Taiwan into the “Indo-Pacific Strategy”;In terms of economic cooperation,the Trump administration promoted Taiwan region to cooperate with the US to carry out an “economic war” by linking the trade war with mainland,and encouraging Taiwan to weaken economic ties with the mainland;In terms of military exchanges,the Trump administration has continuously increased the number and performance of military sales to Taiwan,increasing the frequency of military activities around the Taiwan region Straits,and providing institutional guarantee for US-Taiwan military relations;In terms of Taiwan’s participation in international activities,the Trump administration has actively helped Taiwan expand its “international space” by helping Taiwan consolidate its “diplomatic countries” and supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.The Trump administration’s policy adjustment to Taiwan has comprehensively enhanced the substantive relationship between the US and Taiwan.The Taiwan policy adjustment framework is groundbreaking and the adjustment target is consistent.This has seriously hindered the healthy development of cross-Straits relations,reduced the strategic mutual trust between China and the United States,and adversely affected the security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.Although the Trump administration’s policy adjustment to Taiwan has touched the traditional pillar of the US Taiwan-related policy(“one-China policy”,“dual-track strategy” and “strategic ambiguity”),it has never broken China’s strategic bottom line.The adjustment of its policy to Taiwan is limited by two domestic and international factors.Domestic factors such as the decline of its own strength and the intensification of internal contradictions restrict the adjustment of its Taiwan policies,and the constraints on the framework of China-US relations and the international strategic pattern are also restrictive factors that cannot be ignored in the adjustment of the Trump administration’s Taiwan policies.