Trump says Xi told him he wouldn't invade Taiwan while U.S. leader is in office
Trump made the comments Friday in an interview ahead of his highly anticipated summit in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Moscow's war in 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 in an interview with the Fox News program "Special Report" while aboard Air Force One.
"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,'' Trump said.
But the U.S. president said Xi had also delivered an implicit warning about the future of self-ruled Taiwan — which China claims as its own and has vowed to bring back into the fold, by force if necessary.
'But he also said, 'But I am very patient, and China is very patient,'" Trump said, adding that he had told Xi: ''Well that's up to you, but it better not happen now.''
Asked in February whether it was his administration's policy to prevent China from using force to take control of Taiwan, Trump said he never comments on the issue.
This position stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Joe Biden, who repeatedly broke with decades of 'strategic ambiguity' on the issue, hinting multiple times that Washington would come to Taipei's aid in the event of a Chinese attack.
Still, the Trump administration is believed to be urging partners and allies — including Japan — to make clear the role they would play in the event of a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan.
Taiwan enjoys de facto independence, with democratic elections, a government that controls defined territory and its own military, passport and currency — even if it is not formally recognized as a state by most countries.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan and is bound by law to supply the island with weapons to help it defend itself.
The U.S. position of strategic ambiguity has for decades been intended to not only deter Beijing from using force against the island but also dissuade Taipei from seeking formal independence while giving Washington breathing room in its ties with both.
In June, Trump and Xi held their first confirmed phone call of Trump's second stint in office. During those talks, Beijing said Xi had 'emphasized that the United States must handle the Taiwan question with prudence, so that the fringe separatists bent on 'Taiwan independence' will not be able to drag China and America into the dangerous terrain of confrontation and even conflict.'
In recent months, as the U.S. president has angled for summit talks with Xi, he raised eyebrows in Taipei by reportedly urging Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to cancel U.S. transit visits this month. A similar visit by then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was greenlighted by Biden in 2023.
Remarks made by Trump following Friday's talks with Putin were also expected to be closely analyzed by Taiwanese authorities.
Asked about his advice for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a separate interview on Fox News' "Hannity" after the summit, Trump put the onus for resolving the conflict in Ukraine squarely on Kyiv as it strains to defend its territory from the Russian war machine.
"Gotta make a deal,' Trump said. 'Yeah. Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not.'
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