Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the U.S. position toward Taiwan is “unchanged” after discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Beijing has long insisted that Taiwan is a part of China, with this insistence serving as the main area of contention with the United States. When asked if the U.S. had changed its position toward Taiwan after a meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi, Rubio indicated the meeting was irrelevant to the wider U.S. position.“U.S. policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today. It was raised; they always raise it on their side, we always make clear our position, and we move on,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s comments reflect the U.S. telling of events, with the U.S. readout of the closed-door meeting between Trump and Xi not even mentioning Taiwan. A readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, related Xi’s comments threatening a future conflict over the island.
“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” Xi was quoted as saying. “If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.”
