Taiwan’s Struggle for Partners and Survival

From November 26 to December 2, 2018, I traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to speak at the prestigious private university, Tamkang. There I had the chance to interact with academics, officials, and students regarding Taiwan’s relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean and its associated struggle for diplomatic and existential survival.

My visit to Taiwan coincided with the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, where Chinese President Xi Jinping’s presence highlighted the growing PRC role in Latin America and its successes in the global diplomatic struggle with Taiwan. Xi began his time in Argentina with an important bilateral meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, where the two leaders outlined a five-year plan for cooperation. While many in Washington focused on the negotiation between President Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, for Xi, the conversation with his U.S. counterpart was only one among many. Following the summit, President Xi departed for Panama for his first state visit with China’s new diplomatic partner, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, who was seeking to seal the deal on another series of accords with China that will accelerate the deepening of the PRC-Panama relationship.

Please check out my full report at https://theglobalamericans.org/2018/12/taiwans-struggle-for-partners-and....