By News18,Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Copyright news18

China has asked the US to officially declare that it is against Taiwan independence. The Wall Street Journal, who first reported the development, highlighted in their report that the Trump administration has not made a decision regarding the demand.
The report also said that the demand is “one in a long list of asks from the Chinese side under consideration”, their report said.
The report also highlighted that the US State Department fact sheet on US ties with Taiwan is currently unavailable on its website, at the time when the report was published.
The developments come shortly before US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for a meeting at a summit in South Korea. The US is yet to sign a trade deal with global chip hub Taiwan despite having four rounds of discussions.
A separate report by Bloomberg said that the US President “appears to be balancing efforts to maintain cordial ties with Taiwan” while trying to not disrupt dialogue with his Chinese counterpart.
Earlier in July, the US denied Taiwan President Lai Ching-te permission to transit through New York after Beijing shared objections to the visit. Bloomberg in its report said that the hesitation on the part of US “unnerved some officials” who feared that Donald Trump may “concede too much to Beijing”.
Since President Richard Nixon cut formal ties with Taipei in the 1970s to open relations with Beijing, the US has followed a “one-China policy” that keeps Taiwan’s sovereignty unresolved. Washington has for decades relied on “strategic ambiguity” over whether it would step in militarily if China attacked the island.
Taiwan remains one of the sharpest flashpoints in US-China ties, already strained by disputes over trade, technology and human rights. The US is Taipei’s main source of arms, though President Trump has suggested the island should bear the cost of its own protection.
Beijing has also stepped up pressure since Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2016, insisting that the self-ruled democracy is an “inalienable part” of China. The campaign has gained traction abroad, with a Lowy Institute study finding that more developing nations now back Beijing’s line.