U.S. Taiwan Policy Remains Unchanged After Trump-Xi Summit

Taipei:Taiwan's deputy foreign minister stated on Sunday that the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping did not lead to any change in U.S. policy towards Taiwan. This clarification comes despite efforts by Beijing to sway Washington into explicitly opposing "Taiwan independence." According to Focus Taiwan, President Trump mentioned on Saturday that the discussions regarding Taiwan were minimal during his meeting with Xi at the White House. Trump noted that Xi "understands very much how I feel," following their meeting during Xi's state visit to Washington, D.C. Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi, speaking ahead of a seminar in Taipei, emphasized that Trump's comments should be interpreted "in context." Chen highlighted consistent statements from U.S. officials affirming that the U.S. policy regarding Taiwan remains unchanged. He referenced U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue's remarks on CNBC, confirming there had been "no change" in policy after the summit. Chen also mentioned ongoing communications with the U.S. to gain further insights into summit discussions, noting that Beijing's push for explicit opposition to "Taiwan independence" was not reflected in the U.S. account of the meeting. He observed that President Trump did not endorse such language. On the topic of a pending US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan, Chen stated that Washington understands Taiwan's defense needs, amid continued Chinese military pressure. He referred to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's pre-summit comments that arms sales must consider U.S. military requirements and industrial capacity. Chen indicated that Taipei continues to liaise with Washington on these defense matters. In a separate statement, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the summit primarily focused on economic and trade issues between the U.S. and China, consistent with prior information and expectations. The ministry reiterated that Taiwan's inclusion in U.S.-China talks was unnecessary, and reaffirmed the unchanged status of the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances as key elements of U.S. policy.