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President Trump has revealed that Chinese officials are well aware of “the consequences” if they attempt any military action against Taiwan during his presidency.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: China has consistently vowed to reunify with Taiwan, by military force if necessary. A few years back, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly ordered his military to be ready for a potential invasion by 2027. Since then, China has ramped up its military drills and operations around Taiwan, conducting large-scale exercises that simulate blockades, amphibious assaults, and precision strikes on key infrastructure. Most recently, China unveiled military offload barges (specialized vessels designed to rapidly deploy troops, tanks, and equipment onto beaches without needing ports). A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would have massive consequences for the world, as Taiwan is considered the “semiconductor capital” of the world. Many US lawmakers and top military officials serving under both Republican and Democratic administrations have warned that if China were to have control over Taiwan’ssemiconductor industry, it would pose a direct national security threat, as China could weaponize supply chains.

What’s going on now: During an interview with CBS News, President Trump made it clear that he believes China fully understands the high stakes of making a military move on Taiwan under his leadership. Asked directly whether he would order US forces to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, Trump refused to lay out any specific response, instead warning, “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that.” Pressed further on why he wouldn’texplicitly state what action the US would take, Trump responded, “I don’t want to give away, I can’t give away my secrets. I don’t want to be one of these guys that tells you exactly what’s going to happen… The other side knows.”

Trump also revealed that during his recent high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea (their first face-to-face meeting in six years), the topic of Taiwan “never even came up.” He said Xi “never brought it up. People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up because he understands it, and he understands it very well.” Trump repeatedly stated that Xi and his officials had previously given him verbal assurances that China would not act against Taiwan while Trump is president, telling 60 Minutes, “He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences.”

Interestingly, the Chinese government also appeared to omit Taiwan entirely from their official readout of the meeting. This marks a significant departure from previous US-China summits, where China typically uses such opportunities to strongly restate its claims over Taiwan and issue warnings to the US about supporting “Taiwan independence.”