US-China relations: Taiwan could be the most dangerous trigger point, Politics News – ThinkChina

Caught in the Sino-American geopolitical scrum, smaller states in Asia, in particular Southeast Asia, have sought to avoid making choices between the two powers. The corollary of this, understandably, is the shared desire for stable US-China relations. At a virtual meeting on 9 November between US President Joseph Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Mr Biden underscored the importance of managing strategic risks, and the need to build “common-sense guardrails” to prevent competition from sliding into conflict. Mr Xi said that the two powers needed to establish a basis for “non-conflict and non-confrontation”. While the dialogue is welcome, the fact…