Pelosi's Taiwan Trip a Wake-Up Call for the U.S. and China

Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan this week only lasted 24 hours, but the trip will pose long-term challenges for the already tense relationship between Beijing and Washington and pose significant problems for Taiwan.

Yu Jie is a senior research fellow on China at the Chatham House think tank in London. The trust forged between the two sides over the last 40 years seems to have run out.

The leadership of China has said so. The topic of Taiwan dominated a call between the president of the United States and the president of China. The political foundation of China-U.S. relations will be severely impacted by Pelosi's visit.

Pelosi leaves Taiwan with the island and the world in a more precarious position.

Biden tried to distance himself from the event. He said that the Pentagon didn't like the idea of Pelosi going to China. The White House has made it clear that the U.S. policy has not changed and that Washington will oppose any attempts to change the status quo.

The damage could be mitigated by that. The executive branch of the U.S. government is in charge of foreign relations. The impact of Pelosi's visit on the U.S.-China relations should be limited by the Chinese government's understanding of this.

That doesn't mean it will be easy to sail. The relationship between the U.S. and China deteriorated after Donald Trump labeled China a competitor in his first national security strategy. Relations under the Biden administration are not warm.

The trajectory of the relationship has been established. The rivalry between the U.S. and China has been going on for a long time.

Pelosi’s stopover could scupper U.S.-China cooperation

Some of the world's biggest problems have been worked on by the countries. Beijing and Washington said at the climate summit that they would work together to curb methane emissions. The importance of the two nations collaborating on health security has been shown by the COVID-19 Pandemic. It could leave the world worse off if those efforts stall.

Andrew Mertha is the director of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) China Global Research Center. He says that the visit could hurt China's ability to establish trust, and that the US and China can't manage bilateral issues.

There are no benefits to a Pelosi visit.

The episode may show the side of U.S.-China relations that is not always positive. Both countries are trying to manage their differences. In a virtual meeting with Xi in late 2021, Biden said that he wanted to make sure that lines of communication were open and that competition wasn't going to get out of hand.

The outcome of Pelosi's visit confirmed that the mechanism is in place to prevent military conflicts in the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing began military drills after Pelosi left the island. It is possible that the exercises could lead to unforeseen consequences, as the G7 says they are "increasing tensions and destabilizing the region"

Yu says that despite a chorus of nationalism, China will be careful not to accidentally conflict with the U.S. which could cause huge damage.

Bonnie Glaser is the director of the Asian Program at the German Marshall Fund. She says that both sides have a stake in stopping the spiral. Maybe this will be a wake up call for them.

You can write to Amy Gunia at amy.gunia@time.com