U.S. President Jimmy Carter cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 in favor of better ties with China. Though Beijing and Washington maintain their official relationship, ties have since soured between the two, signaling a significant shift since Carter's decision.
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00:00Here in the United States, flags all across the country are being flown at half-staff
00:05in memory of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away late last month.
00:10We are constantly exploring ways to have better relationships with China.
00:15Carter's administration saw perhaps the most consequential time for Taiwan-U.S. ties.
00:20Under Carter, Washington broke official diplomatic ties with the government in Taipei in favor
00:25of Beijing.
00:27He then revoked a mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and Taiwan as well.
00:32Carter did this in hopes of fostering peaceful and strong ties between Washington and Beijing.
00:38But nearly five decades later, the winds have shifted.
00:41The U.S. and China are at odds militarily, diplomatically, and economically.
00:47U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration is expected to get tough on
00:52China.
00:54Federal incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio is even calling China the biggest threat
00:59to U.S. interests.
01:00We've been speaking to a few analysts here in Washington, D.C., who are expecting the
01:05incoming administration to use economic means to deter Chinese aggression.
01:10But very clearly, the priority is going to be on China as a rival, and that it is not
01:18just military.
01:19It's economic as well as it's societal.
01:21No surprises with Trump's first term.
01:24And what we're seeing potentially in the second, a return, the use of tariffs as an economic
01:29tool in negotiation to try a more comprehensive diplomacy.
01:35Caught in the middle of the tug of war between the U.S. and China is Taiwan.
01:39Despite no official changes in Washington's relationship with Beijing since Carter's shift
01:44in 1979, the U.S. and Taiwan have since built flourishing unofficial ties, ties that both
01:51sides are hoping to strengthen.
01:53Leon Lien, Laurel Stewart, and Leslie Liao in Washington, D.C., for Taiwan Plus.