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Trump’s Taiwan gambit is already a gift to China, say some experts
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US President Donald Trump (right) speaking to Chinese President Xi Jinping after a visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chris Buckley, Amy Chang Chien
TAIPEI – By laying out US arms sales to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with China, US President Donald Trump has handed a gift to Chinese President Xi Jinping in his efforts to undermine the Taiwanese government.
On May 18, China’s state media used Mr Trump’s comments to send a message at home and to Taiwan: that the US cannot be relied on to defend Taiwan, the island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory.
