Editor's note: Zheng Yuli, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

On February 12, the United States and the Lai administration formally signed the reciprocal trade deal. Taiwan region leader Lai Ching-te clamored that it was a "pivotal moment for Taiwan's ‌economy and industries to ride the winds of change and undergo a major transformation," packaging it as a major achievement beneficial to the people in Taiwan. 

However, behind the fog of propaganda, this deal is essentially an exploitation of the Taiwan region's economy by the United States, which aims to turn Taiwan into a pawn for its geopolitical purposes. The Lai administration is willing to sell out the people's well-being and act as a pawn for the US strategy of "containing China by using Taiwan." Such despicable collusion between the United States and the Taiwan authority not only violates the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, but also pushes the Taiwan people into an abyss of damaged interests and rising risks.

Economic coercion is the most prominent feature of this deal. On the surface, Taiwan has obtained a 15% tariff level, but at the cost of the massive outflow of its core advantages and the full opening of its market. The deal requires the Lai administration to purchase an additional $84.8 billion worth of goods from the United States between last year and 2029. The Lai administration has also agreed to buy US liquefied natural gas and crude oil at high prices, which will not only exacerbate energy dependence but also push up electricity prices.

More importantly, the Lai administration has pledged to invest $500 billion in the United States, accounting for approximately 80% of the islands foreign exchange reserves. The investment will mainly focus on the semiconductor and AI industrial chains, forcing enterprises such as the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to accelerate their relocation to the United States, which will also lead to a large-scale brain drain. Once the talent dividend and industrial cluster advantages are drained away, Taiwan will face systemic dilemmas, including industrial hollowing-out, job losses and wage stagnation.

In addition, the deal requires the Lai administration to remove non-tariff barriers against US agricultural products and open up its market to US pork, beef and automobiles. Yet these clauses, which will directly hit the people's livelihood and economy, were only made public after the deal was signed, drawing criticism from local public opinion as "black-box operations."

On the surface, what the United States and the Lai administration signed is a trade deal, but in fact, the intention of military entanglement is abundantly clear. On the one hand, before and after this deal, the United States not only offered arms sales projects worth tens of billions of US dollars to the Taiwan region, but also demanded in the deal that the so-called "defense" expenditure of Taiwan account for at least 3% of its GDP. The Lai administration, with no principles in pandering to foreign forces, let the United States take whatever it wants.

On the other hand, the United States emphasized "industrial clusters," "technological cooperation" and "semiconductor supply chains," with clear military intentions. The US Department of Commerce stated that semiconductors are crucial to US military strength and also demanded that the Taiwan region open up defense-related technological cooperation. In fact, the United States has fully integrated Taiwan's semiconductor and high-end manufacturing industries into its national defense industrial system, transforming Taiwan's "silicon shield" into the "military shield" of the United States.

The core nature of the trade deal between the United States and the Taiwan authority is a political manipulation. It is a collusion between the US strategy of "containing China by using Taiwan" and the Lai administration's attempt to "seek independence by relying on the United States," with many clauses exposing the political plot of their collusion. The US Department of Commerce stated that the premise for the Taiwan region to obtain US Section 232 tariff exemptions is economic and national security alignment, which essentially demands that Taiwan follows the US stance on issues such as high-tech export controls.

Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait serve the common well-being of compatriots on both sides. Separatist activities for "Taiwan independence" and interference by external forces constitute a threat to peace across the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, Taiwan risks becoming "a piece of fat meat" for external powers and "a lamb to be slaughtered at will."

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