At a time when some in Washington’s foreign policy firmament are suggesting the U.S. reconsider its commitment to defend Taiwan, nearly half of the U.S. Senate joined in sending a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama urging the government expedite the sale of new F-16 C/Ds and upgrades to Taiwan’s existing 145 F-16 A/Bs.

“Without new fighter aircraft and upgrades to its existing fleet of F-16s, Taiwan will be dangerously exposed to Chinese military threats, aggression and provocation, which pose significant national security implications for the United States,” said the letter, which was signed by 45 senators representing both sides of the aisle.

In January 2010 Mr. Obama authorized the sale of $6.4 billion in arms, including missile systems and utility helicopters, but critics say those arms were part of a package agreed upon during the previous Bush administration and point out that Mr. Obama has yet to decide on new Taiwanese requests, which include new F-16s as well as upgrades.

In addition to arguing that the sale of the fighters would be consistent with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the U.S. to sell Taiwan weapons necessary for its defense, the letter also pointed to the economic benefits that new sales would bring. It warned that delays in sales could result in the closure of the F-16 production line.

Analysts have argued that sales to Taiwan could bring a strong economic windfall to the U.S. defense contractors, and could help Lockheed Martin retain 11,000 jobs associated with F-16 production. Lockheed faced an additional setback to the production of the F-16 in April when India eliminated it from the running for a new $10 billion fighter order.

Weapons sales to Taiwan have long been a contentious issue. China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has vociferously protested the sales and cut military ties with the U.S. following the sale in 2010. The Pentagon since has attempted to thaw chilly relations, inviting People’s Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde to the U.S. last week for meetings with Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. Chen’s attempt to downplay the threat China poses to Taiwan during his U.S. visit drew angry responses from many on the island.

In the interest of improving Sino-U.S. ties and eliminating a potential Asian flash point, several influential figures have recently called for the U.S. to re-examine its commitments to defending Taiwan.

Most recent on that list is former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Charles Freeman, who at a conference on China’s naval strategy held by the U.S. Naval War College earlier this month questioned the “effort to retard the speeding tilt of the cross-Strait military balance against Taiwan” by continuing with arms sales.

“Given the huge stakes for the United States in our strategic interaction with China, this choice might well strike someone looking afresh at the situation as oddly misguided,” he said.

Mr. Freeman added that the U.S. should take seriously the idea of a “symbolic” unification between Taiwan and China that would exclude a political or military tie-up.

“This offer cannot be dismissed as incredible. China’s willingness to tolerate amazingly different politico-economic orders on what is nominally its territory has been amply demonstrated in both Hong Kong and Macau. Its proposal to Taipei offers far greater autonomy than either of these city-states enjoy. Is it worth a war with China to prevent such an outcome? If not, why are we behaving as if it were?”

In March, a group of U.S. business executives, scholars, and current and former government officials – including a handful of retired military officers – offered a similar assessment, suggesting the U.S. “reevaluate its long-standing policy toward Taiwan” as part of a package of concessions aimed at improving ties with Beijing.

Despite all the war and weapon talk, chances of a military conflict between China and Taiwan seem as distant now as they have at any time since Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang fled to the island more than 60 years ago. Regular flights connect the two, tourism is growing and business cooperation on the back of a landmark trade deal has increased. Further steps in the direction of political or military cooperation are highly contentious, however, and experts have warned difficulties in the relationship may crop up sooner than expected.

All of this suggests the debate in the U.S. might soon move beyond the politesse of letter writing into a more pitched political forum.

– Paul Mozur. Follow him on Twitter @paulmozur

Cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar since the end of the dollar peg was more than 20% by late 2008, but the exchange rate has remained virtually pegged since the onset of the global financial crisis.

In 2009, China announced that by 2020 it would reduce carbon intensity 40% from 2005 levels.

The People’s Republic of China is the world’s second largest economy after the United States by both nominal GDP ($5 trillion in 2009) and by purchasing power parity ($8.77 trillion in 2009).

Available energy is insufficient to run at fully installed industrial capacity, and the transport system is inadequate to move sufficient quantities of such critical items as coal.

The two sectors have differed in many respects.

The technological level and quality standards of its industry as a whole are still fairly low, notwithstanding a marked change since 2000, spurred in part by foreign investment.

The market-oriented reforms China has implemented over the past two decades have unleashed individual initiative and entrepreneurship, whilst retaining state domination of the economy.

The growth in both outbound investment from, and inbound investment to, China reflects the nation’s rising economic power and attractiveness as an investment destination.

“The growth rate (for ODI) in the next few years will be much higher than previous years,” Shen said, without elaborating.

China is aiming to be the world’s largest new energy vehicle market by 2020 with 5 million cars.

In large part as a result of economic liberalization policies, the GDP quadrupled between 1978 and 1998, and foreign investment soared during the 1990s.

Agriculture is by far the leading occupation, involving over 50% of the population, although extensive rough, high terrain and large arid areas – especially in the west and north – limit cultivation to only about 10% of the land surface.

In terms of cash crops, China ranks first in cotton and tobacco and is an important producer of oilseeds, silk, tea, ramie, jute, hemp, sugarcane, and sugar beets.

Sheep, cattle, and goats are the most common types of livestock.

Growing domestic demand beginning in the mid-1990s, however, has forced the nation to import increasing quantities of petroleum.

Alumina is found in many parts of the country; China is one of world’s largest producers of aluminum.

China also has extensive hydroelectric energy potential, notably in Yunnan, W Sichuan, and E Tibet, although hydroelectric power accounts for only 5% of the country’s total energy production.

Shanghai and Guangzhou are the traditionally great textile centers, but many new mills have been built, concentrated mostly in the cotton-growing provinces of N China and along the Chang (Yangtze) River.

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Should the U.S. Sell More F-16s to Taiwan?