Trump says he will discuss arms sales to Taiwan with China’s Xi

WASHINGTON/BEIJING – President Donald Trump said on May 11 he was ready to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan during his visit this week to Beijing, suggesting his personal chemistry with counterpart Xi Jinping would prevent a Chinese invasion of the island.

The White House said Mr Trump will bring along top US executives, including his former nemesis Elon Musk and Mr Tim Cook of Apple, for a trip expected to focus heavily on the US President’s hopes to ramp up trade.

China said it hoped the visit, lasting from May 13 to 15, would bring greater stability between the world’s two largest economies. It will be the first visit by a US president to China since Mr Trump’s trip in 2017.

Asked if the US should keep selling weapons to Taiwan, a key irritant for Beijing, Mr Trump did not answer directly but said: “I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi.”

“President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion. That’s one of the many things I’ll be talking about,” he said, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.

Mr Trump, after referencing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said of Taiwan: “I don’t think it’ll happen.”

“I think we’ll be fine. I have a very good relationship with President Xi. He knows I don’t want that to happen,” he said.

But Mr Trump also noted that the US was “very, very far away” compared with China.

When asked for a response to Mr Trump’s remarks, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry vowed to “continue to strengthen cooperation” with the US, the island’s main security backer, and “build effective deterrence capabilities in order to jointly maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

Congress backs Taiwan

The US recognises only Beijing but, under domestic law, is required to provide weapons for the defence of Taiwan, a self-governing democracy which China considers its own.

Under the 1982 “Six Assurances”, a key foundation of US policy on Taiwan after the switch of recognition, the Washington said it would not “consult” Beijing about arms sales to the island.

Mr Trump has long berated allies as not spending enough on their own defence. Days ahead of his trip to China, Taiwan’s Parliament on May 8 approved a US$25 billion (S$31.7 billion) defence spending Bill, although it fell short of the government’s proposal.

Pointing to the vote by Parliament, a group of US senators led by Ms Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Mr Trump should immediately green-light a US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan.

“We urge you and your team to make clear that America’s support for Taiwan is inviolable,” wrote the senators, mostly Democrats but including two centrists from Mr Trump’s Republican Party.

While discussing economic concerns, Mr Trump should also state that “American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation”, they wrote.

New sanctions over Iran

Mr Trump delayed the trip once due to the war he launched with Israel against Iran, which is still rebuffing his appeals for an agreement.

China is the main international customer for Iranian oil, which Mr Trump has tried to stop all countries from buying through unilateral US sanctions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview on May 10 with CBS News’ 60 Minutes, said he was unhappy that Beijing had shared missile technology with Iran.

Mr Trump’s Treasury Department on May 11 issued sanctions against 12 individuals and entities it said facilitated the sale and shipment of Iranian oil to China.

The sanctions came even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prepared to set up Mr Trump’s visit during talks with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Seoul on May 13. The two have been the chief negotiators for the US and China on all trade and economic issues.

In Beijing on May 11, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that top-level diplomacy was “irreplaceable” between the two countries.

“China is willing to work with the United States in the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, to expand cooperation, manage differences, and inject more stability and certainty into a volatile and intertwined world,” he told a briefing.

Asked about US pressure on Iran, Mr Guo said only that China’s position on Iran was “consistent” and that Beijing would continue to play a “positive role” in promoting a ceasefire and peace talks.

Mr Trump and Mr Xi last met face to face in October 2025 on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea. They agreed then to a one-year truce in a blistering trade war that saw tariffs on many goods exceed 100 per cent. AFP