Political Economy of China-Taiwan Relations: Origins and Development

China-Taiwan economic ties are now among the key factors influencing the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait which is still one of the flashpoints in today’s world. This book traces the origin and the process of how so-called cross-strait economic ties became such a key factor in China-Taiwan relations throughout the 1990s and how this factor has affected China-Taiwan relations since then. By focusing on Taiwan’s domestic politics as it relates to the domestic conflicts between opposing political and economic forces in Taiwan over the political relations and economic ties across the Taiwan Strait, the book demonstrates that the growth of cross-strait economic ties since 1990 has significantly affected Taiwan’s domestic politics which in turn has had a profound impact on China-Taiwan relations. Although the growth of China-Taiwan economic ties could hardly resolve the so-called Taiwan problem and might even lead to some political and economic conflicts between the two sides at times, through Taiwan’s domestic politics, it has reduced the likelihood of severe confrontation, especially the military one, in the Taiwan Strait. As this book reveals, the interactions between the economic winners, the economic losers, the political parties, the government, and the general public in Taiwan’s domestic politics as a result of the growth of cross-strait economic ties have played an important role in the development of China-Taiwan relations, leading to a very confrontational situation from 1995 to 2008, a relatively peaceful Taiwan Strait from 2008 to 2016, and a cold peace between the two sides since 2016.