Challenging the U.S. foreign policy consensus on Taiwan

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of U.S.-China relations, particularly regarding Taiwan, and challenges the current foreign policy consensus.

In October, President Trump and President Xi Jinping met for the first time in Trump’s new presidential term. The meeting ended with commitments from both countries designed to lower trade tensions —– something many observers greeted with relief. But, according to Watson Senior Fellow and Director of the Watson School’s China Initiative Lyle Goldstein, perhaps more noticeable was what was left out of this meeting; almost all of the pressing security issues that exist between the two countries, including the one Goldstein sees as the “most dangerous of all”– the U.S. relationship with Taiwan. On this episode, host Dan Richards speaks with Goldstein about the state of U.S.-China relations over Taiwan, why he believes this issue represents one of the world’s greatest risks to human safety, and why now is the moment to reconsider the U.S. foreign policy consensus on this geopolitical flashpoint. Learn more about the Watson School’s China Initiative Read Lyle’s multi-part series on the past, present, and future of US-China relations

People in this episode

Host: Dan Richards

Guest: Lyle Goldstein

Topics covered

• U.S.-China relations
• foreign policy
• Taiwan
• geopolitics
• security issues

Keywords

• U.S. foreign policy
• China Initiative
• trade tensions
• security risks
• geopolitical flashpoint

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Watson School, U.S., China

Places: Taiwan

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