Relationship dossier
Taiwan
United States
Relationship assessment
Extensive unofficial cooperation, with U.S. defense support and persistent disagreements over Taiwan's status
Taiwan toward United States
+75Taiwan has maintained substantial economic and security engagement with the United States and has cooperated on regional security matters. Taiwan's government also supports close unofficial ties despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
United States toward Taiwan
+75The United States maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act and has provided defensive arms to help Taiwan maintain its self-defense capability. U.S. policy also supports peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues while withholding formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
Overall relationship
+75The relationship is a durable, close but unofficial partnership, notably involving U.S. defensive arms support and broad economic and security engagement. Its structure is constrained by U.S. recognition of the People's Republic of China and by disagreements concerning Taiwan's status and cross-strait policy.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Taiwan and the United States maintain extensive, though unofficial, cooperation. The United States provides Taiwan with defensive arms under the Taiwan Relations Act and has sustained economic and security engagement, while Taiwan has cooperated with the United States on trade and regional security. Relations are constrained by the absence of formal diplomatic ties and persistent disagreements over Taiwan's status and cross-strait policy.
Areas of tension
- Taiwan's international status and U.S. recognition policy
- Cross-strait security and the risk of conflict
- Differences over the scope and timing of U.S. arms deliveries
Key developments
The U.S. Congress enacted the Taiwan Relations Act, providing a framework for unofficial relations and U.S. arms sales for Taiwan's self-defense.
The United States and Taiwan established the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office as channels for unofficial relations.
Major uncertainties
- The future scope and pace of U.S. arms sales and security cooperation remain subject to policy changes.
- The extent and implementation of bilateral trade initiatives vary over time.
- Taiwan's status and the future of cross-strait relations remain unresolved.