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Taiwan election 2024
ChinaPolitics

Explainer | Why does Taiwan matter so much to both mainland China and the US?

  • The island’s presidential election on Saturday emphasises the importance of its strategic location, world-leading chip industry and other geopolitical factors
  • Bringing Taiwan under Beijing’s control and ‘reunifying’ China is part of President Xi Jinping’s ‘national rejuvenation’ goal

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On January 13, Taiwan will hold presidential and legislature elections that will help shape US-China relations for years to come. Photo: Bloomberg
Jack Lau
As many as 19.3 million voters in Taiwan will elect a new president on January 13. Their vote will not only decide the self-ruled island’s policy with Beijing for years to come, but also geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific region and US-China relations.
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Washington views Taiwan as a bastion of democracy next to autocratic mainland China and a strategic foothold for a peaceful Asia-Pacific. Though, like most other countries, it does not see the island as an independent state.

Beijing sees Taiwan as its own and the issue of Taiwan as a red line that must not be crossed or interfered with by foreign parties.

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What Taiwan’s presidential election will mean for China, the US and the world

What Taiwan’s presidential election will mean for China, the US and the world
In Taiwan’s presidential election, the leading candidate, Vice-President William Lai Ching-te of the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), sees Taiwan as an independent country. His major rival, Hou Yu-ih of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party, opposes Taiwan independence and Beijing’s proposal for unification, while advocating “pragmatic dialogue”. Another rival, Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party, proposes engaging with Beijing while maintaining peace and Taiwan’s democratic political system.

Why is Taiwan’s location important?

Taiwan is near the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. They link northeast Asia with the Middle East and Europe, allowing the trade of food, energy sources, natural resources and consumer goods. Experts have argued a conflict in the area would seriously disrupt global trade and drive up prices.

Washington also sees Taiwan as a “critical node” in the first island chain that runs from Borneo to the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. The latter three are US allies and host US bases. The chain is strategically important to Washington because securing it would curtail the deployment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the western Pacific.

Beijing sees the island chain strategy as a way to contain mainland China. The PLA has been trying to defy the island chain’s limits with new transport planes, strategic bombers, aircraft carriers and cruise and ballistic missiles that can strike a target more than 1,000km (621 miles) away.

Why does Beijing want Taiwan under direct control?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has made “national rejuvenation” a goal for Beijing to reach by mid-century. Bringing Taiwan under its control and “reunifying” China is part of that rejuvenation vision.
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The Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the last imperial Chinese dynasty, ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after losing a war. In 1945, the KMT, which ruled China at the time, gained control of Taiwan after Japan was defeated in World War II. The KMT moved its capital to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communist Party on the mainland in 1949.

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