The U.S. State Department website has once again updated its content, touching on sensitive issues concerning China.
The US State Department website has been updated again, touching on sensitive issues concerning China.
Last week, the U.S. State Department website was found to have deleted phrases such as "We do not support Taiwan independence," prompting China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately demand that the U.S. "correct its mistakes" and stop using Taiwan to contain China. Now, the State Department website has been updated again, again touching on sensitive issues for China. Most notably, the website no longer uses "PRC" (People's Republic of China) to refer to China, switching to "China."
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The United States has removed the phrase "Do not support Taiwan independence" and hopes that cross-strait differences can be resolved without coercion. Scholars: The Trump administration has made a clear statement on its Taiwan policy.
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Nikkei Asia first discovered that the US State Department's country profile page has replaced the term "PRC" with "China." However, the report pointed out that it is not yet clear whether this change means that all State Department documents will stop using the official name "People's Republic of China" and use only the term "China."
In response to inquiries, a US State Department spokesperson said: "The State Department regularly updates its website and fact sheets. The China fact sheet has been updated to reflect the current administration's policies and priorities related to China and the US-China relationship."
During the Trump administration's last term, official documents used CHINA in diplomatic activities with China, rather than PRC as used by the Democratic administration.
China is "one of the most restrictive investment environments in the world"
The updated economic relations section of the website states that China has "one of the most restrictive investment environments in the world" and emphasizes U.S. concerns about the U.S.-China trade deficit and the difficulties faced by American companies in the Chinese market. The update also alleges that China engages in unfair trade practices, including forced labor and massive state subsidies, which disadvantage American companies and make it complicit in human rights violations.
The fact sheet also clearly signals a shift in priorities. While the Biden administration's previous fact sheet talked about working closely with allies and partners to confront the People's Republic of China "from a position of strength," the new fact sheet says the United States will conduct its relationship with China based on "the principles of reciprocity and fairness."
The section on "U.S.-China Relations" details: "Strategic competition is the framework within which the United States views its relationship with China in response to China's direct challenges to U.S. interests. The United States will conduct its relationship with China based on the principles of reciprocity and fairness. The United States is committed to deterring China's aggressive behavior, combating its unfair trade policies, countering its malicious cyber activities, halting China's global trafficking of fentanyl precursors, reducing China's manipulation of international organizations, and promoting accountability for China's human rights violations within China and globally."
New content targeting cyber attacks against China
The website also added content targeting Chinese cyberattacks, accusing China of launching attacks on U.S. government agencies and infrastructure and attempting to steal cutting-edge American technology to support its military development. Furthermore, the website emphasizes rebuilding the U.S. industrial base and leading in artificial intelligence, and accuses the Chinese Communist Party of attempting to "manipulate and subvert" international organizations, including the United Nations, and attempting to "cultivate and insert CCP members into leadership and other positions."
The US State Department also removed sections related to its aid to China, which covered projects such as Tibetan cultural preservation, environmental protection, human rights, and combating drug trafficking. These changes came as the Trump administration launched a reform plan aimed at reducing the influence of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and adjusting foreign aid.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Distorting facts and slandering China's foreign policy
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that the U.S. State Department's modification of the "U.S.-China Relations" page and the "U.S.-China Relations Fact Sheet" distorts facts, smears China's foreign policy, and hypes up the so-called Sino-U.S. strategic competition. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.
China urges the US to take concrete actions to fulfill the important consensus reached during the call between the two heads of state, stop misleading the American people and the international community, stop smearing and pressuring China, view and handle China-US relations in an objective and rational manner, and jointly promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations.
