Congress Helps Steer Taiwan Toward the ‘Porcupine Strategy’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week touched down in China for high-stakes diplomatic meetings with top Chinese officials as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing campaign to ease relations with its top geopolitical rival. Among the many items on the agenda is China’s economic support for Russia as it carries out its war in Ukraine.

“The basic view here of how China is supporting Russia is changing, from primarily civilian assistance to actually this is, in effect, military support,” said Jacob Stokes, an expert on the Indo-Pacific with the Washington-based Center for a New American Security think tank.

Another big question on everyone’s minds in Washington is whether Blinken will be able to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping or whether Xi will give him the diplomatic cold shoulder. “If he doesn’t meet with Xi, that’s a clear barometer of where the relationship is,” Stokes said.

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