Taiwan Strait Conflict Would Send Shockwaves Through Global Economy: Report

A conflict over the Taiwan Strait would have far-reaching consequences for the global economy, a Washington-based think tank warned, based on its estimates of trade flows through the narrow body of water separating China and Taiwan in 2022. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explained that there had been a lack of “publicly available, academically rigorous estimates of trade flows” through the Taiwan Strait, prior to the publication of its report on Oct. 10. The report’s researchers used a “unique methodology” and found that the strait accounted for over a fifth of global maritime trade in 2022, or about $2.45 trillion. “This report shows the immense importance of the Taiwan Strait to international commerce and demonstrates the scale of the economic consequences should Beijing upset the fragile stability in the strait by using force against Taiwan,” the researchers wrote....