TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As it is facing growing economic problems, China might decide to focus its political, military, and economic efforts on Taiwan, experts from the United States warned Saturday (March 16).

The Chinese Communist Party used to pride itself on having led China out of poverty but now faces an economic slowdown, speakers remarked at a seminar in Taipei City titled “America’s Grand Strategy Towards China.” The event was organized by the Fair Winds Foundation chaired by former Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), per CNA.

The U.S. and Taiwan needed to pay close attention to whether China would try and divert attention from its faltering economic success story, said Edward Wittenstein, executive director of International Security Studies at Yale University. Despite the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the world could not afford to neglect Beijing’s potential actions in the Indo-Pacific region, he added.

Meetings between U.S. and Chinese leaders served to downplay the risk of misunderstandings, but there were still many issues dividing the two sides, ranging from AI to the fate of social media app TikTok, Wittenstein said.

David Rank, a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in China, told the seminar that U.S. Democrats and Republicans had reached a consensus about Taiwan’s importance. However, administration officials did not want to anger China, hoping to avoid a Chinese attack on Taiwan, he said.