Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to press US President Donald Trump to halt American arms sales to Taiwan when the two leaders meet in Washington this week, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Xi could raise the issue during a visit to the US National Archives, where he is expected to discuss Beijing’s interpretation of the 1982 US-China joint statement on arms sales to Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly called for an end to US arms sales to the democratically governed island. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Under the 1982 joint communique, the United States said it intended to gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan and did not seek to maintain long-term weapons sales to Taipei.
However, a memorandum issued by then-US President Ronald Reagan stated that any reduction in arms sales was “conditioned absolutely upon the continued commitment of China to the peaceful solution” of differences with Taiwan.
According to the sources, Beijing has also asked Washington to halt deliveries of weapons already ordered by Taiwan.
One source said Xi could argue that Taiwan is the “provocateur” and the main source of instability in US-China relations, while accusing Taipei of changing the status quo.
China is also offering to help pressure Iran over the ongoing war in the Middle East, the sources said.
Xi is expected to arrive in Washington on Wednesday, with formal talks between the two leaders scheduled for Thursday and his National Archives visit planned for Friday.
A White House official said Trump would decide on a new Taiwan arms package within a relatively short period.
During his first presidential term, Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any previous US president. The White House official also said his administration approved more arms sales during the first year of his second term than the total approved during former President Joe Biden’s four-year presidency.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it was closely monitoring the high-level US-China exchanges while maintaining “robust communication” with Washington.
The United States is legally required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite having no formal diplomatic relations with the island.
Washington maintains a “one China policy” under which it takes no official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty and acknowledges, without endorsing, Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China.
The Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan in December, described as the largest such package to date. A second package worth about $14 billion has remained on hold for months.
Following his May meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump said he was keeping the package in abeyance and described it as a “very good negotiating chip”.
The United States also issued the “Six Assurances” to Taiwan in 1982. The assurances, declassified in 2020, did not set a date for ending US arms sales to Taiwan or require Washington to consult Beijing before approving such sales.
US lawmakers have continued to voice support for Taiwan ahead of the summit.
Senator Pete Ricketts, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, said Trump should maintain the existing US position and make clear that Taiwan would not be taken by force.
“We need to continue just to again let them know that they’re not going to be allowed to take Taiwan by force. That we are not changing our position on that. We’re continuing to support Taiwan,” Ricketts said.
John Moolenaar, Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on China, also urged Trump in a letter to reject Chinese objections to US arms sales and security cooperation involving Taiwan and other Asian allies.
Matt Pottinger, who served as deputy national security adviser during Trump’s first administration, said he did not expect anything “substantive” on Taiwan to emerge from the meetings.
“I would bet that Xi Jinping is going to lecture at length President Trump on Taiwan as he has in the last meetings and as he has with other presidents,” Pottinger said.
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