'Trump's remark on 'One-China' policy borne out of superficial knowledge'

'Trump's remark on One-China' policy borne out of superficial knowledge'

Chinese analysts have dismissed as 'immature" Donald Trump's questioning of the relevance of continuing the "One-China" policy, saying the US President- elect's statement is "borne out of superficial knowledge" of bilateral ties and Beijing should pressurise him to stick to the status quo.

While China is yet to come out with an official reaction to Trump's remarks made in an interview to Fox news, analysts said his comments were "immature and borne out of superficial knowledge of China-US relations".

A Chinese analyst was quoted by the state-run Global Times web edition as saying that China should make Trump understand the importance and complexity of Sino-US ties and prevent him from being manipulated by some conservative forces after Trump questioned whether the US should continue its "One-China policy" unless Beijing makes concessions on trade and other issues.

In his comments, Trump said, "I do not want China dictating to me".

Recently, he had a phone conversation with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, the first by a US leader in decades, prompting a diplomatic protest from China.

"I do not know why we have to be bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump said in his interview with Fox news yesterday.

Trump said he had just a couple of hours' notice that the call was coming, not weeks or longer as has been reported.

Besides trade, Trump said China was not cooperating with the US on its handling of its currency, on North Korea and its nuclear weapons, or on tensions in the disputed South China Sea where, he said, China is building "a massive fortress".

Trump said it would have been disrespectful not to take the call from Tsai, who he said wanted to congratulate him on his election win.

Li Haidong, professor at China Foreign Affairs University, attributes Trump's comments to his inexperience.

"Trump is a novice at dealing with diplomatic and international relations issues. He is inexperienced in sensitive and complicated issues except for business and trade," Li said.

"His knowledge about Sino-US relations, particularly the Taiwan question, is very superficial, which gives him the nerve to say whatever he likes. As a businessman, he thinks it is quite normal to do business, but he has not realised that the Taiwan question is not a business to China. The Taiwan question is not negotiable," the paper quoted Li as saying.

Li does not believe Trump has a plan to challenge the

One-China policy by making such comments.

"It is still too early to come to that conclusion," Li said, adding that "these ideas may come from some of his conservative consultants, not necessarily from him".

"His focus is on domestic issues such as the economy and employment, so perhaps he does not think very deeply about diplomatic issues. In addition, Trump is highly unpredictable. Many of his remarks have shocked the American elites, but he is very fickle as well, he may eat his words sometime soon," Li said.

Li said the mainstream of the US society are very clear about their China policies, of which the one-China policy is the core and the cornerstone.

"Diplomatically, Trump is still immature, so we need to point out to him how serious the problem is and exert pressure on him. We should make him understand the importance and complexity of Sino-US ties and prevent him from being manipulated by some conservative forces," Li said.

Renmin University international relations professor Pang Zhongying said the Trump administration may play up the Taiwan issue, which could cause friction with Beijing.

"It is likely that Trump will use Taiwan to demand concessions from Beijing. The situation will be tricky," he told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.