HONG KONG — Earlier this month, when Washington announced the sale of a $6.5 billion arms package to Taiwan, China reacted with anger. It has canceled a series of military and diplomatic contacts with the United States, including port calls by naval vessels, and indefinitely postponed meetings on halting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Meanwhile, John McCain and Barack Obama, candidates in the U.S. presidential election, both issued statements supporting the arms sale. McCain went even further and said the U.S. should have included additional major items, such as submarines and F-16s, that Taiwan wants and that he said would produce "tens of thousands" of jobs.
This was one of the few moments in this year's presidential election campaign where China figured. For the most part, however, China has been a nonissue, with the two candidates focusing on other issues, primarily the economy.