Trump’s twitter tactics risk offending China

By
Nicole Jeary
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donald trump

US President-elect Donald Trump risked offending Chinese officials and damaging diplomatic ties, following a set provocative of tweets posted on Monday.

The tweets read:

This follows ongoing tension between the nations, after Mr Trump accepted a phone call from the President of Tawain Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.

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Following the conversation, Mr Trump’s transition team issued a statement which said:

“During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties exists [sic] between Taiwan and the United States,” the statement said.

The phone call broke with the established US protocol regarding Asia which has been followed since 1979, under President Carter. In 1979, following decades of frosty relations with China, the U.S initiated a breakthrough re-opening of diplomacy by severing formal ties with Taiwan. China considers Taiwan, a self-governing island, as a part of its own territory and thus has condemned the phone call.

Whilst the Chinese media have attributed the call to Trump’s inexperience, the tweets that followed suggest a new direction for his administration regarding the Pacific. Under the Obama administration and Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, a pivot towards China was prioritized. Notably, Clinton’s first state visit was to China, with the aim of securing further cooperation with the emerging superpower.
Trump’s actions risk jeopardizing decades of carefully calibrated US diplomatic efforts, initiated first under President Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger – who is seen as a key architect of US post-world war Foreign Policy.

Using Twitter as a way to engage supporters was a tactic synonymous with Trump’s controversial – yet seemingly effective – 2016 Presidential campaign. However, concerns have been raised over Trump’s readiness to engage with social media, and what implications this may have upon preserving diplomatic ties and American prestige globally.