US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured him that Beijing would take no military or political action toward unifying Taiwan with mainland China while Trump remains in office.
“He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in an excerpt from his interview aired on CBS.
Trump said the issue of Taiwan did not come up directly during his recent talks with Xi in South Korea, which largely centered on US-China trade tensions, but expressed confidence that China would refrain from aggressive moves.
US concerns over Taiwan tension
Washington has long viewed China’s intentions toward Taiwan — a self-ruled island democracy that Beijing claims as its own — as a potential flashpoint in Asia.
The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act governs US policy toward the island, requiring that the US help Taiwan maintain sufficient defense capabilities but stopping short of a firm commitment to intervene militarily if China attacks.
Trump dodges question on US defense of Taiwan
When asked whether he would send US forces to defend Taiwan if China launched an invasion, Trump avoided a direct answer.
“You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” he said, referring to Xi.
