Xi Jinping and Trump talk about Taiwan during White House meeting: Beijing urges the United States to make it clearer that it "opposes Taiwan independence"

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Trump at the White House, and their statements on the "Taiwan issue" attracted attention.

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, Xi Jinping said during the meeting that China’s position on safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity is very clear, and he hopes that the United States will “adhere to the correct stance of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ and handle the Taiwan issue prudently.”

It was unclear whether Trump would respond. After the meeting, Trump described the two sides as having a "great meeting." When asked by the media whether the talks involved issues such as Taiwan and artificial intelligence (AI), neither leader responded.

Political scientists told BBC Chinese that judging from this change in wording, compared with the previous meeting between the US and China leaders, Beijing was more direct in its statements on the Taiwan issue this time, and was striving for the US to not only make a verbal commitment, but also express its opposition to "Taiwan independence" more clearly in policy documents or official statements.

The analysis also pointed out that Beijing took the lead in announcing relevant content through official channels. In addition to reiterating its existing stance on Taiwan, it also attempted to dominate the narrative after the summit. Beijing has continued to adopt a "preemptive" strategy in recent U.S.-China summits. If this trend continues and high-level interactions between Taiwan and the U.S. are further restricted, Taiwan's role in the U.S.-China-Taiwan triangular relationship may be further "marginalized."

In the next few days, the outside world will continue to pay attention to how Washington responds to relevant claims and whether the public statements of the United States and China mention Taiwan.

Beijing urges the U.S. to express its opposition to Taiwan independence more directly

Trump and Xi Jinping held a meeting at the White House on Thursday (September 24), Eastern Time.

This is the second meeting between the two this year. The last face-to-face meeting was during Trump's visit to China in May this year. At that time, the Taiwan issue was already the focus of the outside world; at this summit, how the United States and China would handle related issues was also closely watched.

Wang Hongren, a professor at the Department of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, said in an interview with BBC Chinese that compared with the previous meeting between US and China leaders, Beijing was more direct in its statements on Taiwan issues this time.

He analyzed that China's demands have shifted from emphasizing that "the Taiwan issue is the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US relations" and warning that improper handling may impact the relationship between the two countries, to requiring the United States to make clearer statements at the policy level.

"Beijing hopes that the United States will make more specific statements in official communiqués or official documents, rather than just verbal statements by Trump."

Wang Hongren said that China's relevant requests to Trump itself have a certain political effect; as for the extent of the impact, it still depends on how the United States responds. He believes that the United States may not accept this request, but if Washington adjusts its existing Taiwan policy as a result, it will be a vigilant development for Taiwan.

The Chinese government maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and lists the Taiwan issue as one of the core issues in its relations with the United States. However, most Taiwanese people agree that Taiwan has its own sovereignty and hope that both sides of the Taiwan Strait will maintain the status quo, that is, not unify with China or formally declare independence.

A poll released in June this year by the Election Research Center of National Chengchi University in Taiwan showed that nearly 60% of the people in Taiwan favor maintaining the status quo, with 26.1% favoring independence and 7.9% favoring reunification.

The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but maintains solid unofficial relations and provides Taiwan with the capabilities it needs for self-defense in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act. Washington has always stated that it "does not support" Taiwan's formal independence, but has never explicitly declared its "opposition to Taiwan independence" in its long-term policy statements.

The main foundations of the U.S. policy toward Taiwan include the Taiwan Relations Act, three U.S.-China joint communiques, and the "Six Assurances."

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on the afternoon of Thursday (September 25), "This is China's consistent method of unilaterally conveying its position and proposition by distorting facts." It also pointed out that the Republic of China, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are not affiliated with each other, and Taiwan's future can only be decided jointly by the Taiwanese people in a democratic manner.

Washington has not expressed its stance, increasing Taiwan’s anxiety

Compared with Beijing's clear statement of its position on the Taiwan issue, it is still unclear whether Trump responded during the meeting. The White House has not announced the results of the talks, and the minutes of the talks released by Xinhua News Agency do not show that Trump has responded to relevant statements.

Several political scientists told BBC Chinese that before the White House announced the content of the talks, Beijing took the lead in disclosing relevant information, which would help China take the lead in defining the focus of the summit and may affect the outside world's understanding of the results of the talks.

William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst at the non-profit think tank International Crisis Group, told BBC Chinese that China quickly announced the contents of the talks after the summit. In addition to reaffirming its stance on Taiwan, it also aimed to shape the outside world's perception of the summit's outcomes.

He believes that Beijing hopes to create an impression: "China and the United States will gradually form a situation of co-administration of Taiwan, and the United States has gradually adjusted its position to the position that China hopes the United States will adopt."

After the previous U.S.-China meeting, Trump stated in an interview with Fox News, "I don't want anyone to become independent." This was interpreted by some observers as adopting some of Beijing's usual arguments. Previously, Trump had also publicly questioned part of the framework that underpins the U.S.'s long-term policy toward Taiwan.

Yang Haowei analyzed that Trump has always been unwilling to be constrained by the traditional foreign policy framework of the United States. His foreign policy stance is often highly personal and uncertain, and Beijing uses this uncertainty to advance its own narrative. If Washington fails to explain its position through official channels in a timely manner, it may deepen Taiwanese society's doubts about the direction of U.S. policy toward Taiwan, thereby increasing anxiety.

Are there any variables in arms sales to Taiwan?

It is worth noting that any statement by Trump on relevant issues, even a slight adjustment in wording, may be interpreted by the outside world as a signal of changes in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, which will in turn affect expectations for Washington’s security commitments and arms sales policy to Taiwan.

Reuters reported on September 22 that it was reported that during Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, he would put pressure on Trump to stop arms sales to Taiwan in accordance with the 1982 "August 17 Communique".

The full name of the "August 17 Communique" is "Announcement between China and the United States on Solving the Issue of U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan." In the communique, the United States stated that it will gradually reduce arms sales to Taiwan and hopes that the Taiwan issue will eventually be resolved peacefully.

China has long criticized the United States for failing to implement relevant commitments. The United States pointed out that then-President Ronald Reagan stated in the subsequent Taiwan policy document that whether the United States would reduce arms sales to Taiwan depended on whether China continued to handle cross-strait differences in a peaceful manner; Taiwan's defense needs will remain an important factor for the United States to consider.

At the previous U.S.-China meeting, Trump said he was about to sell $14 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan as a bargaining chip with Chinese leaders, calling it a "very good bargaining chip."

The Trump administration approved an arms sale to Taiwan of approximately US$11 billion in December last year, the largest in history; another arms sales of approximately US$14 billion has been on hold for several months.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told the media that the delay in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is partly due to Washington’s potential military needs in other parts of the world, as well as limitations on domestic defense industry production capacity.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense recently stated that it will continue to maintain close coordination with the U.S. Department of War to promote the implementation of arms sales to Taiwan as planned.

Analysis: Taiwan 'already marginalized'

Think tank expert Yang Haowei said that Taiwan's influence on the interaction between the United States and China has always been limited, including when arms sales to Taiwan will be promoted and how the United States and China will deal with Taiwan issues. Taipei lacks sufficient leverage to influence it.

He pointed out that Beijing has continued to adopt the "preemptive" strategy in previous US-China summits in recent years, trying to take the lead in defining the discussion framework and direction of Taiwan issues. If this trend continues and high-level interactions between Taiwan and the United States are further restricted, Taiwan's role in the triangular relationship between the United States, China and Taiwan may be further marginalized.

Weng Luzhong, associate professor at the Department of Political Science at Sam Houston State University in Texas, USA, told BBC Chinese that from arms sales to Taiwan to Taiwan sovereignty issues, the signals Trump has recently sent to Beijing are generally friendly. He observed that during Trump's second term, Taiwan's strategic importance in US-China relations has declined compared to the past, and it can even be said that "it has been marginalized."

Weng Lvzhong pointed out that the U.S. Congress, executive departments and multiple think tanks have continued to emphasize the importance of Taiwan in recent years and called on the White House not to regard Taiwan as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Beijing. However, judging from Trump’s policies and public remarks since returning to the White House, Taiwan has not become a priority on his diplomatic agenda.

Reuters reported on September 25 that 19 Democratic members of the U.S. Senate criticized the summit for focusing too much on formality and ignoring substantive issues, and called on Trump to fulfill the more than $15 billion in security assistance to Taiwan approved by Congress, including $1.3 billion in funds and $14 billion in arms sales.

Previously, many Republican senators also called for the security aid to Taiwan to be unfrozen as soon as possible.

Weng Lvzhong believes that how Trump talks about Taiwan in the next few days will be an important indicator for observing the impact of this special meeting with Xi. He said that if Trump mentions Taiwan again later, especially if he publicly criticizes Taiwan for its insufficient defense investment or security responsibilities, the outside world may interpret it as that the United States and China have reached a certain level of consensus on Taiwan issues during the summit.

"What Beijing wants is not necessarily that the United States directly declares its abandonment of Taiwan," Weng said. "China hopes that the United States will send out some signals so that Taiwanese society will gradually doubt Washington's support, thereby weakening the outside world's confidence in the United States' security commitments."

The special meeting lasted for three days, and the main itinerary included a tea ceremony in the Red Room of the White House and a visit to the U.S. National Archives.

Taiwan social reaction

In Taiwan, related developments have also attracted great attention. The opposition Kuomintang recently called on President Lai Ching-te to immediately convene a high-level national security meeting to fully understand the issues that may involve Taiwan during the Trump-Xi meeting and publicly explain it to the public.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said at a public event on Wednesday (September 23) that Taiwan's freedom and prosperity are not only related to the future of 23 million people, but also related to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and even the world. Taiwan Chief Executive Zhuo Rongtai said that the government is paying close attention to developments related to the Sichuan-Xi summit.

Political scientist Wang Hongren pointed out that although the United States received Xi Jinping with high-level courtesy this time, on the surface, Sino-US relations seem to have been temporarily stabilized, but if we examine the specific results, the two sides have not yet achieved a significant breakthrough.

He said that the clear development at present is that the originally scheduled one-year trade "truce" between the United States and China will be extended for another two months, but this is still not fully in line with Beijing's expectations. In addition, the two sides have yet to reach specific results on issues such as rare earth exports and soybean procurement.

Wang Hongren also pointed out that judging from the attendance arrangements for the state banquet and related activities, the participation of Chinese business people is still subject to certain restrictions, which shows that although Washington hopes to stabilize bilateral relations, it still regards China as an important competitor involving national security. Competition and strategic alert between the United States and China have not disappeared.