Xi Jinping asked whether US would defend Taiwan, Donald Trump says
Updated ,first published
Washington: As Donald Trump revealed key details of his talks with the Chinese president on his way home from a high-stakes meeting in Beijing, he said Xi Jinping directly asked whether the United States would defend Taiwan in a war.
The two men also spoke “in great detail” about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which China wants to stop and Trump has not committed to resuming. He said he would make this decision soon after speaking with the Taiwanese leader.
“President Xi and I have talked a lot about Taiwan… he is very much opposed to what they are doing,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.
“He doesn’t want to see a struggle for independence because that would be a very strong conflict… I didn’t comment on it, I listened to him. I have great respect for him.”
Asked by a reporter whether he would defend Taiwan, Trump said he would not respond by maintaining the United States’ long-standing position of strategic uncertainty. He said he gave the same answer to Xi.
“He asked me if I could defend them. I said, ‘I’m not talking about it.’ There’s only one person who knows. You know who that is? Me.”
In December, the Trump administration approved a record $11.1 billion ($15.5 billion) arms package for the self-governing democracy (over which China claims sovereignty). But the president delayed approval of another package worth up to $14 billion.
Trump stated that he did not feel bound by the so-called “six assurances” given to Taiwan under then-President Ronald Reagan in 1982; one of which was that the United States would not consult China on arms sales to Taiwan.
“1982 is a long way, this is a long, long way away,” he told reporters on the plane. “[Xi] When he brought it up he talked to me about it – so what am I going to do, I’m going to say ‘I don’t want to talk to you about this because I have an agreement that was signed in 1982’.
“Either way, I haven’t made any commitments. I’ll be making a decision in the next fairly short period of time. I need to talk to the person who runs Taiwan (you know who it is).”
Trump said he and Xi also discussed lifting U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying oil from Iran and would decide in the next few days.
The US president’s account of his talks with his counterpart was much more detailed than the summary Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave when answering questions from state-run news agencies.
Wang said the two men spent nine hours together during their multiple meetings, including a bilateral meeting, a banquet dinner, a visit to the Temple of Heaven and tea/lunch at Xi’s Zhongnanhai compound.
He emphasized the centrality of the Taiwan issue and echoed Xi’s message that “if mismanaged, the two countries will clash and drag the entire China-US relationship into a very dangerous situation.”
Wang added that China hopes the United States will take “concrete steps” to preserve the relationship, and that China is currently framing this as “constructive strategic stabilization.”
On Iran, Trump said he did not seek help from Xi to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but he believed China would trust its partner because Beijing also wants the passage to be open and free.
“I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return. We don’t need favors,” Trump said.
He also lashed out at the journalists on Air Force One, denouncing them: New York Times’ Veteran reporter David Sanger has been charged with treason after claiming that Trump failed to achieve the political changes he wanted in Iran.
Trump said to Sanger, “I achieved a complete military victory. But guys like you misrepresent fake news. You are a fake guy.”
“You should know better, David. You know better. Your editors tell you what to write, so you write, and you should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think that’s a betrayal.”
He also clashed with a BBC reporter who asked about a missile attack on a girls’ school in Iran at the start of the war, which reportedly killed around 175 people.
The USA did not take responsibility despite all warnings New York Times The report stated that the preliminary investigation confirmed that it was an American missile. Trump said the investigation is continuing.
Meanwhile, the US State Department announced that Israel and Lebanon will extend the ceasefire for another 45 days, after two days of talks in Washington.
Israel is not at war with Lebanon, but during the war against Iran it has struck targets affiliated with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in the country, including the capital Beirut.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health continued its attacks until this week’s talks, despite the ceasefire that started on April 16. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said 22 people, including eight children, were killed in Wednesday’s attacks.
The Washington talks represent the first high-level diplomatic relations between Israel and Lebanon in more than 30 years. State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said political negotiations will continue in early June and a security discussion will be added on May 29.
During the Beijing summit did not produce many immediate concrete resultsTrump said China had agreed to buy 200 planes from American manufacturer Boeing (fewer than the 500 the firm had originally hoped for) and up to 750 planes “if they do a good job.”
He said this summit was just “the beginning” and that he and Xi could meet up to four times this year. Trump invited Xi to the White House on September 24 – during the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly – and Beijing confirmed that the Chinese leader would visit the US in the northern autumn.
The two leaders may also meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in China in November and the G20 summit of world leaders at the Trump National Doral resort in Miami in December.
Lisa Visentin with Reuters
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
