US watching Taiwan elections closely as China reiterates claim to island

Poll outcome will help set the tone for Washington-Beijing relations amid slight easing of tensions.

Last month, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping strolled through the lush gardens of a grand California mansion engaged in a candid, intimate conversation.

It was their first face-to-face summit in a year and the Chinese president was blunt – Taiwan, Xi told his US counterpart, was the most important and dangerous issue in the two countries’ fractious relationship.

Beijing’s policy towards the self-ruled island it claims as its own will again be under the spotlight when voters in Taiwan go to the polls on January 13 to choose a new president and parliament, and the United States will be watching closely.

At the moment, William Lai Ching-te, the incumbent vice president and the candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is expected to emerge the winner.

That result would likely rankle Beijing, which portrays Lai as a “separatist” bent on independence and ensure continued tension across the narrow strait that separates the island from China.