The loss of El Salvador as a diplomatic ally to China has confirmed that Chinese decisionmakers are far from adopting modern values of cooperation, tolerance and mutually beneficial gains, a French specialist in cross-strait relations said on Tuesday.

The way the Chinese decisionmakers deal with Taiwan and the Taiwan issue worldwide “remains entrenched in pre-Second World War [WW2] values of sheer force, brutal diplomacy, territorial conquest and crude national interests,” said Stephane Corcuff, a professor of political science at France’s Lyon University.