Taiwan-China Relations

Taiwan's APEC Participation in Focus Ahead of Shenzhen Summit

Published

By Howard Chang/Tiffany Wong

Taiwan's participation in this year's APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen, China, remains uncertain after Beijing reportedly sent Taiwan a letter rather than a formal invitation. The report has raised concerns that Beijing may be seeking to downgrade Taiwan's status within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, where Taiwan is a full member. Taiwan's foreign ministry says it would strongly protest any effort to diminish its standing and defend its rights within APEC. Analysts note similar disputes have occurred before when China hosted the summit, but some expect Beijing to follow established APEC norms as the meeting approaches.