Fmr. Wash. Gov.: China Would Be Hurting Itself if It Invaded Taiwan

EXCERPT:

LOCKE: "No, I don’t believe that that would happen. And I don’t think the economic crisis and the trade war is connected to China’s intentions regarding Taiwan, because if there were to be an invasion of Taiwan by China, Taiwan would be decimated. And China really depends on so much of the economic activity and the products coming out of Taiwan, including semiconductors and advanced technology. So, China would be hurting itself if it were to launch an invasion. Obviously, China does not want Taiwan to become independent, continue toward a path of independence, and so they’ve been kind of showing their toughness and showing strength with military flyovers, ships going through the Taiwan straits. But China understands that it would not be in China’s interest at this moment to have any type of military action against Taiwan, because the rest of the world would react very, very negatively and impose huge sanctions on China. And given the precarious nature of China’s economy, coupled with the tariffs on Chinese goods, which will hurt the workers of China, having sanctions against China because of an invasion of Taiwan would only make things worse."