Ryan Hass

[The Article 23 security proposal] is likely to be overwhelmingly popular in China. There is little sympathy on the mainland for the Hong Kong protests.

If Hong Kong loses preferential trade treatment, U.S. tariffs and export controls on China would apply to Hong Kong. This action-reaction sequence of China tightening its hold on Hong Kong and America responding by withdrawing preferential treatment would weaken Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub.

Whenever Trump withdraws the U.S. from international leadership, Xi announces that China will step forward...Xi has been ruthlessly opportunistic about seeking to exploit America’s withdrawal from global leadership for China’s advantage.

I think that the [U.S.-China] relationship is probably at the worst point since at least [normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations] of 1979. There is no sign that there will be meaningful efforts at coordination between Washington and Beijing anytime soon. Right now, the most important priority is to save lives and to stop spread of the virus and to rescue the global economy. But that's not going to happen.

[The outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic] is the most perilous moment since World War II. This is the most acute public-health crisis that the world has faced in a century. It's hitting every major country simultaneously. The ability of world powers to collaborate is severely diminished; multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization, the U.N., the G-7, the G-20 just aren't functional. The U.S.-China relationship is in free fall and there doesn't appear to be any effort in Beijing and Washington to preserve its capacity to collaborate in arresting the spread of the virus or destruction that it is causing. [Instead, the US and China] are trying to place the other in the worst possible light on the international stage. The only way to make the United States safe is to stamp out the virus in every corner of the world. The only way to stamp out the virus in every corner of the world is to align international efforts to do so, and there's no pathway to doing that without China on board. And so it's time to tone down the rhetoric, take a break from the finger pointing, and roll up our sleeves and figure out how to get our arms around the problem. The American people deserve it.

As the world searches for solutions amidst a global health crisis, the United States is taking a position that Taiwan’s contribution must be included, the world needs all the help it can get at this moment, and Taiwan has a lot to offer.