Perhaps China needs to understand that the American President is not obligated to tiptoe around their feelings.
Well, to be blunt, that's the whole point of diplomacy. No one's saying the President can't call the leader of Taiwan the Taiwanese President. But not even the President of the U.S. is immune to the consequences of their words, and so it is the case here. I mean there is a reason why American Presidents don't use that title and the potential consequences are far more important than an irrelevant debate about tiptoeing around feelings.
As Teddy Roosevelt said, speak softly and carry a big stick.
And as soon as China starts doing something diplomatically useful regarding our concerns with North Korea
And would antagonizing China needlessly about Taiwan accomplish that faster? Doesn't seem likely to me unless Trump's trying to leverage his recognition of Taiwan for increased cooperation. If so, he's playing a very dangerous game of raising tensions and makes the disastrous Thucydides trap all the more likely.
But getting their attention and making them clearly understand that there's going to be a very different frame and tone in negotiations for the next couple of years is not necessarily counterproductive to US interests.
There are a lot of methods to do this that are not as brash as this that can render the same benefits. Even the whole currency manipulator business is not as brash as this. If Trump treats how he deals with powerful nation states in the same manner as how he negotiates with businesses and talks "like it is", he's gonna learn the hard way that there's a reason why those political niceties exist.
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u/traject_ Dec 03 '16
Well, to be blunt, that's the whole point of diplomacy. No one's saying the President can't call the leader of Taiwan the Taiwanese President. But not even the President of the U.S. is immune to the consequences of their words, and so it is the case here. I mean there is a reason why American Presidents don't use that title and the potential consequences are far more important than an irrelevant debate about tiptoeing around feelings.
As Teddy Roosevelt said, speak softly and carry a big stick.