Forget steel and intellectual property. The biggest potential flashpoint between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is an island of 23 million people sitting off China's coast.
Even as global investors shift from worrying about a second Korean conflict to a potential China-U.S. trade war, decades-old disagreements over democratically run Taiwan are simmering. For China, at least, that is a more serious concern.
"Compared with economic and trade issues, the Taiwan issue is a top priority for Beijing and is more politically sensitive," said Fu-Kuo Liu, an international relations professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei. "The U.S. will measure relations with Taiwan based on its national interest, and Taiwan will be a pawn to Beijing."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.