US policy on Taiwan unchanged after Xi’s visit, says top envoy Perdue
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Chinese President Xi Jinping heaped pressure on US President Donald Trump to limit support for Taiwan during his trip.
PHOTO: AFP
- US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged despite Xi Jinping's visit, with the US opposing both Taiwanese independence and coercion from China.
- The Trump administration has approved US$11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan and continues discussions on further sales to support its defence.
- Taiwan's role as a key chip supplier strengthens US ties, making its protection vital amid Beijing's pressure and threats to use force if needed.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discuss Taiwan arms sales every time they get together but the American stance on the self-ruled island remains unchanged following the Chinese leader’s state visit to Washington last week, the US President’s top envoy to Beijing said.
“We don’t support independence, and we don’t support coercion,” US Ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News Sunday in response to a question about Taiwan.
Xi heaped pressure on Trump to limit support for Taiwan, which Beijing sees as its own territory, during his trip. The Chinese leader pressed the US to outright “oppose” Taiwan independence, marking his first public call for the US to change its decades-old position on the island.
Asked whether the US is denying what Taiwan needs to defend itself to appease Xi, Perdue said that was “absolutely not the case”. The Trump administration has already approved US$11 billion (S$14 billion) in sales of US arms to Taiwan and there are continuing conversations about other sales, he said.
“He actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point,” Perdue said.
With Xi heading towards an expected fourth term in office, Beijing has renewed diplomatic pressure to isolate the democratic chip hub. China has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary.
On Sept 26, Trump said he did not spend a lot of time talking about Taiwan with Xi, and that the Chinese leader “understands very much” how he feels about the issue.
The US’ official position is that it doesn’t support Taiwanese independence and opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by Beijing or Taipei.
The US President delayed a planned US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan for months. After his last meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump described that deal as “a very good negotiating chip”.
Taiwan’s role as a key chip supplier to meet artificial intelligence demands means the island has a “symbiotic relationship” with the US, which is “why it should be protected”, Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s representative to the US, said on Sept 27 on CBS’s Face The Nation.
“The United States has been our main supplier of selling weapons to Taiwan,” he said. “We hope that we can get that weapons in as soon as possible.” BLOOMBERG