TL;DRTrump told Fox News after his three-day Beijing summit that a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan is “a very good negotiating chip,” holding the deal “in abeyance” after discussing it with Xi Jinping “in great detail.” Xi warned that mishandling Taiwan could put the entire US-China relationship in “great jeopardy.”
Donald Trump flew home from Beijing on Friday having told China’s Xi Jinping that a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan is “a very good negotiating chip,” a remark that reframes American security commitments to a democratic ally as a bargaining token in a broader great-power relationship. The comment, made during a Fox News interview that aired after the summit, was the clearest signal yet that the administration views Taiwan less as a security obligation and more as a variable in its dealings with Beijing.
The three-day state visit, which took place from 14 to 16 May, produced no binding agreements on the issues that divide the two countries most sharply: Taiwan, technology export controls, and the ongoing conflict in Iran. What it did produce was an abundance of ceremony, personal warmth between the two leaders, and a Chinese announcement of a new era of “constructive strategic stability,” a phrase the White House did not repeat but did not contest.
