Hong Kong — The US and Japan are taking steps toward upgrading ties with Taiwan, risking a run-in with China as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping prepare for a first meeting in Florida next week. The two allies have made a series of moves signalling more-direct relations with the diplomatically isolated island even after Trump reaffirmed the US’s long-standing policy recognising that both sides are part of "One China". In the past week alone, Taiwan’s US envoy has shared a Washington stage with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and hosted a vice-minister from Japan, its highest-level official visit in almost half a century. Such exchanges could weigh on talks if the Mar-a-Lago summit goes ahead between Xi and Trump, who jolted ties in December by taking an unprecedented phone call from Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen and openly questioned the One-China policy. China considers its sovereignty over Taiwan a "core interest" and is anxious for reassurances that Trump will not alter US policy,...
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