Skip to main content

Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

President Donald Trump has confirmed he plans to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan during his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: US arms sales to Taiwan have long been one of the biggest flashpoints between the US and China, with Chinese officials always denouncing US military support for the self-governed island as a violation of the “one-China principle.” Recently, Trump approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan (the largest in history), which prompted China to immediately run a two-day military exercise near Taiwan simulating a blockade of Taiwanese ports. A second arms sale package worth roughly $14 billion was approved by Congress in January but is stuck waiting on Trump’s signoff to officially move to the next stage, and he has held off on doing so for months. Taiwanese lawmakers separately approved a $25 billion special defense budget last Friday (roughly $15 billion shy of what President Lai Ching-te originally pushed for) for missile systems and other US-made hardware to counter China’s growing military pressure around the island.

What’s going on now: Trump confirmed Monday at the White House that the Taiwan arms sales conversation will be on the table when he sits down with Xi this Thursday and Friday in Beijing for what will be Trump’s first trip to China in nine years. “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.”

Trump also downplayed the possibility of a US-China conflict over 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.” The White House later tried to clean up the comments, saying “there has been no change in U.S. policy regarding Taiwan,” and a senior administration official told the press over the weekend that Trump has already greenlit more weapons for Taiwan than Biden did during his entire term (though the AP has noted that production backlogs in the US defense industry could push actual delivery out by years).

The remarks immediately raised alarms among Taiwan supporters in the US and Taipei. Even discussing US arms sales with Xi would mark a departure from the Six Assurances, a 1982 framework in which the US pledged to Taiwan that it would not consult with China on weapons sales to the island.

This all comes after a bipartisan group of eight US senators tried to head off any softening by pushing Trump to move forward on the $14 billion package in a letter sent Friday. The letter was led by Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and included Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Curtis (R-UT).

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Keep up to date with our latest videos, news and content