Trump Says Xi Told Him China will not Invade Taiwan While He is U.S. President
Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
'I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don't believe there's any way it's going to happen as long as I'm here. We'll see,' Trump said during an interview on Fox News' 'Special Report.'
'He told me, 'I will never do it as long as you're president.' President Xi told me that, and I said, 'Well, I appreciate that,' but he also said, 'But I am very patient, and China is very patient.',' Trump said.
Trump and Xi held their first confirmed call of Trump's second presidential term in June. Trump also said in April that Xi had called him but did not specify when that call took place.
China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to 'reunify' with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday described the topic of Taiwan as 'the most important and sensitive issue' in China-U.S. relations.
'The U.S. government should adhere to the one-China principle and the three U.S.-China joint communiqués, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, and earnestly safeguard China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,' embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement.
Although Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and international backer, the U.S. – like most countries – has no formal diplomatic ties with the island.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
West Virginia sends hundreds of National Guard members to Washington at Trump team's request
By MATT BROWN and MIKE PESOLI Hundreds of West Virginia National Guard members will deploy across the nation's capital as part of the Trump administration's effort to overhaul policing in the District of Columbia through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. The move comes as federal agents and National Guard troops have begun to appear across the heavily Democratic city after Trump's executive order on Monday, federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 D.C. National Guard troops. By adding outside troops to join the existing National Guard deployment and federal law enforcement officers temporarily assigned to Washington, President Donald Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It's a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though district officials have noted that violent crime is lower than it was during Trump's first term in office. A protest against Trump's intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday afternoon before a march to the White House, about 1.5 miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said 'No fascist takeover of D.C.,' and some in the crowd held signs that said 'No military occupation.' Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Gov. Patrick Morrisey, announced Saturday that he was sending a contingent of 300 to 400 members. 'West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation's capital,' Morrisey said. Morgan Taylor, one of the organizers who coordinated Saturday's protest, said they were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump's actions that the administration would be forced to pull back on its crime and immigration agenda. 'It's hot, but I'm glad to be here. It's good to see all these people out here,' she said. 'I can't believe that this is happening in this country at this time.' Fueling the protests were concerns about Trump overreach and that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington. John Finnigan, 55. was taking an afternoon bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. The real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years said that Trump's moves were 'ridiculous' because 'crime is at a 30-year-low here.' 'Hopefully some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,' Finnigan said. Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was 'very uncomfortable and worried' for the safety or her students given the 'unmarked officers of all types' now roaming Washington and detaining people. Dickstein said she turned out to the protest with friends and relatives to 'prevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.' The West Virginia activation suggests the administration sees the need for additional manpower, after the president personally played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers. Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia's adjutant general, said in a statement that members of the state's National Guard 'stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region' and that the Guard's 'unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.' Federal agents have appeared in some of the city's most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, pushback and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country. City leaders, who are obliged to cooperate with the president's order under the federal laws that direct the district's local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president's takeover. On Friday, the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an 'emergency police commissioner' after the district's top lawyer sued to contest. After a court hearing, Trump's attorney general, Pam Bond, issued a memo that directed the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. District officials say they are evaluating how to best comply. In his order on Monday, Trump declared an emergency due to the 'city government's failure to maintain public order.' He said that impeded the 'federal government's ability to operate efficiently to address the nation's broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.' In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that 'our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.' She added that if Washingtonians stick together, 'we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy — even when we don't have full access to it.' Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Trump tells Zelenskyy that Putin wants more of Ukraine, urges Kyiv make a deal
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By Steve Holland, Andrew Osborn and Tom Balmforth U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not", after a summit where Vladimir Putin was reported to have demanded more Ukrainian land. After the two leaders met in Alaska on Friday, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow's main targets, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskyy rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014. Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies, until now with U.S. support, have demanded. Zelenskyy said he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday, while Kyiv's European allies welcomed Trump's efforts but vowed to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia. Trump's meeting with Putin, the first U.S.-Russia summit since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, lasted just three hours. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted on Truth Social. RUSSIA LIKELY TO WELCOME TRUMP'S COMMENTS His various comments on the meeting mostly aligned with the public positions of Moscow, which says it wants a full settlement - not a pause - but that this will be complex because positions are "diametrically opposed". Russia has been gradually advancing for months. The war - the deadliest in Europe for 80 years - has killed or wounded well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Before the summit, Trump had said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on. But afterwards he said that, after Monday's talks with Zelenskyy, "if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin". Those talks will evoke memories of a meeting in the White House Oval Office in February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave Zelenskyy a brutal public dressing-down. Putin signaled no movement in Russia's long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv's desired membership in the NATO alliance. He made no mention in public of meeting Zelenskyy, which the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to do. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said a three-way summit had not been discussed. In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump signaled that he and Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had "largely agreed". "I think we're pretty close to a deal," he said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say 'no'." Asked what he would advise Zelenskyy to do, Trump said: "Gotta make a deal." "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not," he added. NEED FOR SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE Zelenskyy has consistently said he cannot concede territory without changes to Ukraine's constitution, and Kyiv sees Donetsk's "fortress cities" such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as a bulwark against Russian advances into even more regions. Zelenskyy has also insisted on security guarantees, to deter Russia from invading again. He said he and Trump had discussed "positive signals" on the U.S. taking part, and that Ukraine needed a lasting peace, not "just another pause" between Russian invasions. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed what he described as Trump's openness to providing security guarantees to Ukraine under a peace deal. He said security guarantees were "essential to any just and lasting peace." Putin, who has opposed involving foreign ground forces, said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine's security must be "ensured". "I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine," Putin told a briefing on Friday with Trump. For Putin, just sitting down with Trump represented a victory. He had been ostracized by Western leaders since the start of the war, and just a week earlier had faced a threat of new sanctions from Trump. '1-0 FOR PUTIN' Trump spoke to European leaders after returning to Washington. Several stressed the need to keep pressure on Russia. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said an end to the war was closer than ever, thanks to Trump, but added: "... until (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions." A statement from European leaders said, "Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees" and no limits should be placed on its armed forces or right to seek NATO membership as Russia has sought. Some European politicians and commentators were scathing about the summit. "Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing," Wolfgang Ischinger, former German ambassador to Washington, posted on X. Both Russia and Ukraine carried out overnight air attacks, a daily occurrence, while fighting raged on the front. Trump told Fox he would postpone imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, but he might have to "think about it" in two or three weeks. He ended his remarks after the summit by telling Putin: "We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon." "Next time in Moscow," a smiling Putin responded in English. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Bad diets, too many meds, no exercise: A look inside the latest 'Make America Healthy Again' report
By AMANDA SEITZ A report that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has promised will improve the health of America's children does not call on the government to make significant changes to its food or farming policies, according to a draft document obtained by The Associated Press. The 'Make America Healthy Again' strategy report is supposed to be one of Kennedy's signature achievements as the nation's health secretary, giving the government a roadmap to help its citizens lose weight, reduce chronic diseases and exercise more. Before coming to Washington, Kennedy had spent much of his career decrying the harms of chemicals sprayed on crops, prescription drugs, ultraprocessed foods, and vaccines. His coalition, then, has expected him to take bold action as the nation's top health leader. But a draft of the so-called 'MAHA' report, first reported by The New York Times on Aug 14, mostly calls on the government to further study chronic diseases, bad air quality, Americans' diets and prescription drug use. The report lays out four problem areas – poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and overuse of medications -- that are to blame for chronic diseases in the U.S. The White House has held off on publicly releasing the report, which was submitted to President Donald Trump on Aug 12. The latest report is the policy companion to a 'MAHA' report released in May, which was found to have several errors in it. White House spokesman Kush Desai refused to confirm whether the copy obtained by the Associated Press was a final version, though HHS officials have insisted the report has been finalized. 'President Trump pledged to Make America Healthy Again, and the Administration is committed to delivering on that pledge with Gold Standard Science,' Desai said. 'Until officially released by the White House and MAHA Commission, however, any documents purporting to be the second MAHA Report should be considered as nothing more than speculative literature.' Some in the agricultural industry had warily anticipated the report, fearing it would call for bans or investigations into the use of pesticides and herbicides that farmers in the U.S. regularly spray on crops to control weeds and enhance yields. Other farmers were concerned about how the report may target the use of corn syrup, a common sweetener, in American foods. Both products have been a central talking point in Kennedy's 'MAHA' movement, which has attracted a diverse coalition of suburban and rural moms, Trump supporters and liberals concerned about the nation's food supply. Instead, the report calls for an 'awareness' campaign to raise confidence in pesticides. Concerns from the agricultural industry waned as the report hit the president's desk, with one of Kennedy's closest advisers, Calley Means, calling for MAHA supporters to work with major farm companies on Tuesday. Means also acknowledged that the 'pace of political change' can be frustrating. 'We need to build bridges,' Means said, adding that: 'We are not going to win if the soybean farmers and the corn growers are our enemy.' Means did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. A spokesman for Kennedy also declined to comment. The report urges the National Institutes of Health – which is facing a 40% cut to its budget under the Trump administration – to undertake several studies on Americans' health, including research on vaccine injury, autism, air quality, water quality, prescription drugs, and nutrition. The report also calls for changes to the foods served in schools and hospitals, something that will be hard to deliver with the Trump administration's funding cuts, said Kari Hamerschlag, the deputy director of the food and agriculture at the nonprofit Friends of the Earth. Earlier this year, the Republican-led administration wiped out $1 billion set aside that helped food banks and schools procure food directly from local farmers. 'This is not going to transform our food and farming system,' Hamerschlag said. 'This is not going to make people healthier. They need to put resources behind their recommendations.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
