China’s Failed Imperial Outreach to Taiwan

This paper examines China’s imperial outreach to Taiwan. It first traces a set of imperial practices being pursued under Xi Jinping, which aim to establish dependencies in Taiwan and other areas in China’s near and far peripheries. It then examines how these practices impact Taiwan specifically, their effectiveness in establishing Chinese control over the island, and how they create a Taiwanese dependence on China. As the analysis shows, Taiwan poses a serious challenge to China’s quest for imperial centrality in Asia and beyond, as it continues to resist dependence with remarkable success. In turn, this resistance helps to explain why the Xi regime has become increasingly uncompromising and coercive in its efforts to incorporate Taiwan, increasing the risk of imperial failure and dwindling regime legitimacy in China.