(RepublicanReport.org) – After Russian troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, many wondered if China would follow the country’s lead and annex Taiwan by force. In August of that year, Yahoo Finance reported the potential action would have global consequences because China’s manufacturing sector is intimately connected to other economies like Europe and the United States. Hal Brands and Michael Beckley, who wrote “Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China,” said a war between China and Taiwan would probably lead to a worldwide “depression.”
On May 17, Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared on CNBC, where he echoed those same sentiments. He warned US policymakers to take China’s threat to reunify Taiwan with the mainland “seriously.” Musk said China’s intention is to integrate with the sovereign nation, so conflict is likely “inevitable.” The billionaire said the move would not only be bad for Tesla but for “any company in the world.” According to Musk, a China/Taiwan conflict would cut the Chinese economy off from other co-dependent countries. He likened the potential break to that of separating “conjoined twins.”
Elon Musk says tension between U.S. and China "should be a concern for everyone." https://t.co/kUSHXUka3x pic.twitter.com/XscyQvbZ3d
— CNBC (@CNBC) May 17, 2023
According to Yahoo Finance, the difference between the impact on the United States from the Russia-Ukraine war and a possible China-Taiwan conflict is that the US trade with China is over $650 billion per year and more than $110 billion with Taiwan. US trade with Russia and Ukraine was about $36 billion and $4 billion before the war, respectively — that is a huge difference. Plus, America imports a lot of consumer products from China that it doesn’t from the current warring nations. So, the impact of a conflict leading to a possible disruption of trade could be felt more directly by everyday Americans.
Do you agree that China will eventually try to take over Taiwan? If so, what do you think lawmakers in the US will do about the issue?
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