Xi Expected to Press Trump to Halt Taiwan Arms Sales as $14 Billion Package Remains on Hold

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to press Donald Trump to halt US arms sales to Taiwan when the two leaders meet in Washington this week, with a $14 billion American weapons package for the island already on hold. Reuters reports that three sources familiar with preparations for the summit expect Beijing to invoke the 1982 US-China joint communique and argue that Washington should gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan.

China may go further by seeking a halt to deliveries of weapons Taiwan has already ordered. The request would put one of the most sensitive issues in US-China relations directly into wider negotiations between Trump and Xi, although there is no indication that Trump has agreed to Beijing’s demands. The White House says the president will make a decision on the pending weapons package relatively soon.

The delayed package gives the talks an immediate practical significance. Trump said after a May summit with Xi that the $14 billion package was being kept in abeyance and described it as a negotiating chip. At the same time, the United States remains bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, while the Reagan-era Six Assurances state that Washington did not agree to set a date for ending arms sales or consult Beijing before making those decisions.

The dispute comes as China has sharply increased military activity around Taiwan, including major exercises and near-daily operations around the island. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of China, while Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claim. Reuters also reports that Beijing is offering to help pressure Iran over the Middle East war as part of the wider diplomacy surrounding the summit.

No agreement on Taiwan arms sales has been announced, and Reuters’ reporting concerns what Xi is expected to seek rather than an agreed outcome. The immediate position is nevertheless striking: $14 billion in US weapons for Taiwan is already on hold as Xi prepares to ask Trump to reduce or halt the sales altogether.

Sources

• Reuters: China’s Xi expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales under 1982 agreement