Balance Of Power
Anyone struggling to stay on top of the dispute over Taiwan can take comfort: U.S. President Joe Biden is having trouble keeping things straight.
After reassuring Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday that the U.S. isn’t taking a position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Biden later described the democratically-governed island as “independent” to reporters before quickly walking it back.
He said he was only referring to Taiwan’s need to make its own decisions, rather than seeking to violate a red line for China that could prompt an invasion.
Key Reading
The delicate dance reflects both Taiwan’s complicated international status and the high stakes involved: It remains the biggest flashpoint that could spark a military conflict between the world’s largest economies.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum yesterday, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a war was unlikely soon, but the risks of miscalculation were increasing.
China has alarmed the U.S. by bolstering its nuclear and missile capabilities while regularly sending fighter jets near the island. Those sorties activate Taiwan’s defenses, increasing the chances of a plane going down and a crisis erupting.
A survey touted by Taiwan’s government today found more than 80% of the public want authorities to bolster the military.
Apart from Biden’s gaffes, the message his administration is sending to China is clear: Don’t even think about invading. But for Xi, unification is one thing the Communist Party can’t back away from.
At the moment, the best hope for peace is maintaining the status quo, however confusing it may be. — Daniel Ten Kate
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Global Headlines
Nuclear worries | The U.S. is seeking ways to discuss issues of “strategic stability” with China, sources say, as concerns rise over Beijing’s burgeoning nuclear arsenal. Peter Martin and Jenny Leonard report exclusively on how talks might be framed.
New summit | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador visit Biden at the White House today in their first in-person meeting since he took office. Dig into the key issues they’ll be discussing.
Pandemic Relapse
Europe has again become a Covid epicenter despite vaccine rollouts
Source: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
* Data for seven days ending Nov. 15
European countries are increasingly forcing companies to let employees work from home as they tackle a rapidly spreading fourth Covid-19 wave. While vaccination rates are relatively high in many countries, governments are also restricting access to public places for those who aren’t inoculated.
In limbo | With the Northern Ireland Protocol that underpinned the U.K.’s Brexit deal now in jeopardy, companies in the region feel they’re in a precarious position. Morwenna Coniam outlines here why firms are worrying about rising tensions and possibly losing the benefits of being part of both the U.K. and European single markets.
Best of Bloomberg Opinion
Public spat | A U.S. effort to show unity between two of its closest allies backfired yesterday, after Japanese and South Korean officials walked out of a news conference, leaving Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to face reporters solo. The public dust-up came as a long simmering dispute over an islet that both neighbors claim resurfaced.
Rising scandal | Chinese state media broke its silence today on the whereabouts of tennis star Peng Shuai by posting a letter attributed to her on its Twitter account saying she was resting at home and “fine.” But the attempts to knock down her allegations of an affair with a former Communist Party leader ignited outcry just as China prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February.
Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with David Westin weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online here or check out prior episodes and guest clips here.
News to Note
And finally ... The Russian missile test that shattered a dead satellite into at least 1,500 pieces hurtling around the Earth at up to 17,000 miles an hour shows the growing threat of space debris, even as firms like SpaceX and Boeing plan to launch thousands of commercial craft in coming years. “It’s not like the movie ‘Gravity’ where one thing happens and everything goes ‘boom,’” says Brian Weeden from the Secure World Foundation. There is “a tipping point where it starts to accelerate” and the orbital environment deteriorates over decades.
— With assistance by Karl Maier, and Muneeza Naqv
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