A Study of the Strategic Triangle among China, the US, andTaiwan in Xi’s Era

Since the twentieth century, the United States has deeply influenced cross-strait affairs. From the Marshall Mission, an unsuccessful attempt to mediate the civil war between the KMT and the CPC, to the crisis in the Taiwan Strait, the United States has played an important role. The role of the United States is especially important in this new century: how the United States views and treats the rising China is an important choice for US diplomacy, and the Taiwan issue is also a sensitive and important issue in US-China relations. Does the United States regard China as a partner or a competitor? Is the US policy toward China a policy of containment or engagement, or a combination of containment and engagement (a “congagement” policy)? A state’s foreign policy is formed based on accumulated perceptions, evaluations, and opinions, which gradually shape the country’s policies and actions. In other words, subjective perceptions and thinking are the pioneers of specific policies. This thesis first analyzes the policy changes of Xi Jinping and his contemporaries, namely the two US presidents and the two Taiwan presidents; observes and examines the trilateral relationship between these countries; evaluates the current triangular relationship between Taiwan, the United States, and China; and finds out how Taiwan can change Find a way out.