If you’re like me, President Trump’s ongoing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping is interesting, even historic, but seems less relevant personally. You’re aware that the two countries have been engaged in trade wars that affect our economy and that China’s influence with Iran could perhaps help open the Strait of Hormuz and relieve the high cost of gas. And you’ve followed to some degree the growing concerns over AI and hope that the two countries could act together to forge a more positive technological future.
Before the summit began, many observers thought these issues would be foremost on the agenda for the bilateral meetings. They were wrong.
After the two presidents conducted their first meeting, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted overnight on X,
President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.
“Taiwan independence” and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the US.
Why is the “Taiwan question” the “most important issue” between the world’s two superpowers? And why does it matter to you?
“A destructive and costly war”
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has a good explainer on the subject of Taiwan. It begins:
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is an island separated from China by the Taiwan Strait. Mainland China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule and asserts that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory, though it has never governed the island.
The PRC sees the island as a renegade province and vows to “unify” it with the mainland, preferably by peaceful means but by military force if necessary. In recent years, they have ramped up military capabilities and conducted intrusive operations near the island. Taiwan has its own democratically elected government; nearly 63 percent of the island’s residents regard themselves as exclusively Taiwanese, while only 31 percent identify as both Taiwanese and Chinese.
As the CFR reports, “Many foreign policy analysts fear a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw the United States into a destructive and costly war with China.”
Why would the US go to war over the island?
“The most important company in the world”
Taiwan is the world’s top manufacturer of semiconductor chips. Its largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), produces more than 90 percent of the smallest, most advanced chips.
TSMC is the top supplier for Apple and many other US tech companies. Its chips power the vast majority of electronic devices in the world, from smartphones, laptops, and servers to devices used in consumer goods and cars.
Accordingly, in the view of technology analyst Michael Spencer, “TSMC is the most important company in the world.” As a result, he warns, “A threat to the island nation of Taiwan (e.g., like a blockade or invasion) and supply chains of TSMC would immediately plunge the global economy into a severe recession. It would also likely spark a hot war involving the US, Japan, and other allies.”
According to the Free Press, Taiwan is therefore “the defining geopolitical flash point of the 21st century.”
“God gave us a spirit not of fear”
If right now you’re confused over all this and more than a little alarmed, I share your sentiments. I don’t know enough about this very complex subject to have a defensible opinion on what the US should do, and even if I did, my opinion wouldn’t change the issue. Nor would yours.
So, we can go about our day, following the news while trying not to become distressed over it and focusing on what we can control. This is, in fact, the way many people respond to the troubling news they see.
But God’s people have a better option. Since “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7), we can leverage our fear by faith. We can pray specifically about the issues we face, trusting our omniscient and omnipotent Father to do what we cannot do.
Regarding China and Taiwan, for example, we can pray for President Xi and other Chinese leaders to have a “Damascus road” experience with Jesus (Acts 9:1–19) and for a mighty spiritual awakening to transform their nation. We can pray for President Trump and US leaders to seek “the wisdom from above” that is “first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17). We can pray for Taiwanese Christians to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” and “speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
When “Satan trembles”
If you’re thinking that such intercession is a rather naïve and devotionalized response to a critical geopolitical issue, perhaps that’s because the enemy wants you to think that. The English poet and hymnwriter William Cowper wrote:
Restraining pray’r, we cease to fight;
pray’r makes the Christian’s armor bright;
and Satan trembles when he sees
the weakest saint upon his knees.
The great missions leader John R. Mott similarly observed:
The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer.
Will such “victories” be won in China this week on your knees?
Quote for the day:
“He can do all things well who prays well. All soul-winners have conquered on their knees. Wherever the secret of prevailing prayer is found, something supernatural will come to pass” —G. F. Oliver
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