On the eve of the meeting between US and China leaders: Taiwan shows confidence and weapons, Beijing reiterates that it cannot be challenged

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) On the eve of the meeting between U.S. and Chinese leaders in Washington, Taiwan Chief Executive Zhuo Rongtai said on Wednesday (September 23) that he was confident in the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations. Jiao Fujun, deputy spokesman for Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, said that the U.S. government and Congress have repeatedly expressed support for Taiwan's defense capabilities. Taiwan will continue to maintain close contact with the United States and continue to promote the implementation of arms sales to Taiwan as planned.

Taiwan's army on Wednesday displayed some U.S.-made weapons, such as the HIMARS rocket system produced by Lockheed Martin. The Taiwan military also demonstrated Taiwan's new "Cheetah" wheeled combat vehicle equipped with a 105mm gun and conducted a live-fire drill.

Will Xi Jinping urge the United States to stop arms sales to Taiwan?

People familiar with the matter recently told Reuters that during Xi Jinping's visit to Washington, he is expected to urge Trump to stop arms sales to Taiwan in accordance with a 1982 Sino-US joint communiqué.

According to the "August 17 Communique" jointly issued by China and the United States on August 17, 1982, the United States promised not to pursue a long-term arms sales policy to Taiwan. The performance and quantity of weapons sold to Taiwan will not exceed the level supplied in recent years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, and it is prepared to gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan.

In December last year, Trump approved an arms sale to Taiwan worth US$11 billion, the largest arms sale to Taiwan in history. However, after visiting China in May this year, Trump stated that he would shelve another U.S. arms sales to Taiwan worth approximately US$14 billion, calling it a "very good bargaining chip."

A senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters that Beijing views the delay in U.S. arms deliveries to Taiwan as a direct means of delaying Taiwan's military buildup, which would give China more room to increase pressure on its neighbors around Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said China could use a range of inducements - including purchases of U.S. goods or posturing on the situation in the Middle East - to persuade Trump to reduce U.S. military commitments in the region. He also pointed out that the Chinese military has significantly increased the number of ships operating around Taiwan and in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and is collecting data such as submarine cable information that may have wartime uses.

China emphasizes that the Taiwan issue cannot be challenged

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council, said at a regular press conference on Wednesday that "the Lai Ching-te administration stubbornly adheres to the separatist stance of 'Taiwan independence'," "wasting Taiwan's people's support and resorting to militarism" and "will only accelerate Taiwan's push into danger." She also "sternly warned" the Democratic Progressive Party authorities that "no matter how much budget is compiled or how many weapons are purchased, it will not change the inevitable defeat of 'Taiwan independence', nor can it stop the inevitable reunification of the motherland."

The official People's Daily published an article on Wednesday written by Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the United States, saying that "China and the United States are win-win through cooperation, but lose-lose through confrontation." The article also said, "China's sovereignty, security, and development interests cannot be violated, and the four red lines of the Taiwan issue, democracy and human rights, road systems, and development rights cannot be challenged."

The People's Daily also published a commentary on Wednesday under the pseudonym Zhong Sheng, looking forward to the meeting between Chinese and US leaders in Washington. The article wrote, "In recent years, the tortuous course of Sino-US relations has clearly shown that the United States has a wrong understanding of China and cannot let go of the so-called 'strategic competition' obsession. This is the fundamental reason for the continuous difficulties in Sino-US relations."