Xi Jinping Expected to Press Trump on Taiwan Arms Sales During Washington Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to raise the issue of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during his Washington summit with President Trump, citing the 1982 joint communiqué. China has also requested a halt to already-ordered arms deliveries. U.S. Republican lawmakers and former officials have affirmed continued U.S. support for Taiwan ahead of the talks, while the Trump administration reviews a pending $14 billion arms package.

According to three people familiar with the preparatory discussions, Beijing is anticipated to put forward its stance on the 1982 joint communiqué — the third bilateral agreement of its kind — when Xi meets Trump in Washington. People's Daily, a state-owned Chinese newspaper, reported Tuesday that mishandling the Taiwan issue could drive Beijing-Washington relations into a period of pronounced instability, ahead of Xi's scheduled Thursday talks, following his Wednesday arrival and a Friday archives visit. A source familiar with the matter indicated that Xi may seek to place responsibility for straining bilateral ties on Taiwan, framing the island as having altered prior arrangements. In a Friday letter, House Select Committee on China chair John Moolenaar called on the president to set aside Beijing's objections to arms transfers and security arrangements involving Taiwan and regional partners, while former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, speaking at a defence forum in Taipei on Saturday, questioned whether the week's bilateral talks would yield tangible results on Taiwan, noting his expectation that Xi Jinping would raise the matter at length with Trump, as he had done in earlier meetings and with prior administrations.

Xi Jinping Expected to Press Trump on Taiwan Arms Sales During Washington Summit

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Xi Jinping Expected to Press Trump on Taiwan Arms Sales During Washington Summit

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