October 16, 2017
What the World Can Learn from Taiwan's China Experience
As China’s economic gravity becomes inescapable and its military reach extends into the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, nations large and small are trying to benefit from the upside of China’s ascent while managing the attendant geopolitical risks.
China’s continued rise presents a series of balancing acts. How to engage China economically while limiting vulnerability to coercion. How to welcome Chinese foreign-direct investment (FDI) while protecting critical sectors of the economy. And, how to maintain a credible military deterrent with limited defense resources.
Due to its unique position as an island democracy that China regards as a breakaway province, Taiwan has struggled with these balancing acts for years. Its successes and failures are instructive, pointing the way for countries only now coming to grips with the reality of Chinese power and influence.
Read the full op-ed in The National Interest.