When it emerged that Donald Trump and the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, had spoken on the phone – the first communication between top officials from the two governments in nearly 40 years – the world was puzzled, Googling away as to whether Taiwan was even a country. The answer to the question is not as easy as it might seem.

Taiwanjoins others that suffer from incomplete recognition, such as South Ossetia and Somaliland

Taiwan’s peculiar existence dates back to the Chinese civil war, which ran for decades during the 20th century between communists and nationalists. When the communists prevailed and Mao’s People’s Republic of China was established on the mainland, the previous government of the Republic of China was self-exiled on the island of Taiwan, continuing to claim sovereignty over the whole of China. The cold war world was slow-moving, but eventually recognition shifted from the exiled government to the People’s Republic of China. Swiftly, formal ties with the island were cut and communist China replaced the exiled government in the UN and elsewhere. That was in the late 1970s, the era during which official relations between Taiwan and the US were frozen – until Trump.

In recent times, the dispute between China and Taiwan has been about who is sovereign over Taiwan, rather than the whole of China. Beijing sees Taiwan as a Chinese province, while Taiwan claims independence as an island state. Because China is recognised as sovereign, the vast majority of states do not recognise Taiwan, and the island joins others that suffer from incomplete recognition, such as breakaway regions of the post-Soviet space (for example South Ossetia or Abkhazia in Georgia), Somaliland and Western Sahara in Africa, or Kosovo and Palestine, which, although much more recognised, are still short of full membership to the club of states.

Unlike most other unrecognised states, however, Taiwan is in practice a part of the world, with a stable political system and a booming economy. It has good trade links – astonishingly, it is the 10th largest trade partner of the US – works with bodies such as the World Trade Organisation, and takes part in events such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup.

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Of the other unrecognised states, only Kosovo and Palestine compete in similar events – in fact, Kosovo’s first ever participation in Rio 2016 was celebrated as a sign of its state credentials being recognised. But the fact that Taiwan is so well-integrated might partially explain why so many were surprised at the impropriety of a call between the US and Taiwanese presidents, and why one of the most popular Google searches following Trump’s call was “is Taiwan a country?”.

The answer is not as straightforward as it may seem. With a permanent population and territory and a government that can control them, Taiwan certainly looks like a state. The fact that Taiwan joins other states in international events and bodies, makes it look even more so.

However, it is easy to come to the opposite conclusion, since only a small number of other states recognise the government there, despite their commercial and sporting links with the island. Indeed, one way in which Taiwan has managed to be part of the world despite the lack of formal recognition is by being flexible with its diplomacy. For example, it often avoids using its “state” name and instead opts for Chinese Taipei, which is not as controversial for China.

But the dilemma remains: what matters more – behaving like a state or being seen as one? Certainly, in the wake of Trump’s call, it looks as if it’s the latter. This is probably why it has angered China, which seems to be more fussed about the symbolism behind the call rather than the actual links between the two sides, which have remained strong for a number of years, and never seemed likely to be diminished.

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Trump’s accidental – or perhaps wilful – breach of protocol adds to the challenges in the relationship between Beijing and the incoming US administration, though the call won’t trigger a war in the region. As long as Taiwan refrains from declaring independence (and it is unlikely it will use this as an opportunity to do so), China won’t make an aggressive move. In fact, relations between Taiwan and China have progressed a lot over the past few years, despite the fact they still do not recognise each other.

Formally making it to the club of states remains a difficult task, even for those, such as Taiwan, that are most prepared for it. But does it really matter when you are the 22nd strongest economy in the world?