As U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping begin their summit, Taiwan is on high alert. The concern is that Taiwan's political status and U.S. arms sales could come to the negotiating table during U.S.-China talks.
CNN reported on the 13th (local time) that Taiwan authorities are closely watching how the Taiwan issue might be raised at this U.S.-China summit. In particular, the possibility that Trump could make partial concessions on Taiwan as he conducts economic and security negotiations with China is cited as a source of anxiety.
The United States recognizes China's position by upholding the "One China" principle. "One China" means the Chinese government's official stance that "there is one China, and Taiwan is part of China." The Chinese government argues that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government representing China and does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state.
The United States severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan when it established diplomatic ties with China in 1979, but at the same time enacted the Taiwan Relations Act to provide a basis for selling defensive weapons to Taiwan. However, the United States has maintained strategic ambiguity on whether it would intervene militarily if China invades Taiwan.
Trump recently told reporters at the White House that he would discuss the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with Xi. He said, "President Xi does not want us to do that," adding, "But I will discuss it." The U.S. government has not yet formally approved a Taiwan arms sale worth about $14 billion (20 trillion won).
The Taiwan government is struggling to hide its unease. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said recently that the United States has repeatedly confirmed there is no change in its Taiwan policy, but added, "We hope no unexpected developments related to Taiwan occur at the Trump-Xi summit." Taiwan Vice Foreign Minister François Wu said in a Bloomberg interview in April, "What we fear most is Taiwan ending up on the U.S.-China negotiation menu."
China is expected to actively raise the Taiwan issue at this summit. Xi has defined unification with Taiwan as an unstoppable trend and has not ruled out the possibility of using force. China has also recently continued military drills around Taiwan, ramping up pressure.
The People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, said in an editorial the previous day that the Taiwan issue is the first insurmountable red line in China-U.S. relations and the greatest risk factor in the relationship. The Embassy of China in the United States also mentioned Taiwan on social media, saying, "The four red lines of China-U.S. relations — they are not to be challenged."
Some experts, however, said the United States is unlikely to easily abandon support for Taiwan. Piero Tochi, senior director for China policy at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), said, "Trump understands how important Taiwan is," adding, "Taiwan is effectively the front line of defense for the U.S. mainland," and, "I don't think Taiwan needs to worry."