Fallout from Taiwan elections risks creating further mistrust in US-China relations, analyst warns

Beijing’s likely response to a victory for the independence-leaning William Lai Ching-te in Taiwan’s presidential election may trigger a chain of events that risks further undermining trust between China and the United States, a mainland academic has warned.

Shao Yuqun, director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the presidential and legislative elections this month may be one of the five biggest challenges the two countries face in stabilising relations.