Trump brushes aside Taiwan concerns ahead of Xi meet

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President Donald Trump has said he is ready to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan during his visit to Beijing this week, as he suggested his personal chemistry with counterpart Xi Jinping would prevent a Chinese invasion of the island.

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

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China said it hoped to achieve greater stability between the world’s two largest economies during the visit lasting Wednesday through Friday, the first by a US president since Trump went in 2017.

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

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“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 told reporters in the Oval Office.

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

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“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.

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

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

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Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that “China’s opposition to the United States’ sale of weapons to China’s Taiwan region is consistent and clear”.

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– Congress backs Taiwan –

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

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

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Trump has long berated allies as not spending enough on their own defense. Days ahead of his trip to China, Taiwan’s parliament Friday approved a $25 billion defense spending bill, although it fell short of the government’s proposal.

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

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“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 Trump’s Republican Party.

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Trump should also state that “American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation,” they wrote.

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– New sanctions over Iran –

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

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

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

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

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The sanctions came even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prepared to set up Trump’s visit during talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Seoul on Wednesday.

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Bessent and He have been the chief negotiators for the United States and China on all trade and economic issues.

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Foreign ministry spokesman Guo added on Tuesday that China “firmly opposes” to the sanctions and would safeguard the interests of domestic enterprises.

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“Regarding the Iran conflict, the most pressing tasks is to do everything to avoid the resumption of fighting rather than use the conflict to maliciously smear China,” he told a regular news briefing.

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Trump and Xi last met face-to-face in October on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea.

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They agreed then to a one-year truce in a blistering trade war that saw tariffs on many goods exceed 100 percent.

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AFP

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