Trump ‘jokes’ aside, US stance unchanged: Perdue

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discuss arms sales to Taiwan every time they get together but the US stance on Taiwan remains unchanged following the Chinese leader’s state visit to Washington last week, the US president’s top envoy to Beijing said.

“We don’t support independence, and we don’t support coercion,” US Ambassador to China David Perdue said during an interview on Sunday in response to a question about Taiwan.

Xi pressured Trump to limit support for Taiwan during his trip. The Chinese leader pressed the US to outright “oppose” Taiwanese independence, his first public call for the US to change its decades-old position on the nation.

US President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour the US National Archives in Washington DC on Friday.

Photo: REUTERS

Asked whether the US is denying what Taiwan needs to defend itself to appease Xi, Perdue said that was “absolutely not the case.”

The Trump administration has already approved US$11 billion in sales of US arms to Taiwan and there are continuing conversations about other sales, he said.

“He actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point,” Perdue said.

With Xi heading toward an expected fourth term in office, Beijing has renewed diplomatic pressure to isolate Taiwan. China has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary.

On Saturday, Trump said he did not spend a lot of time talking about Taiwan with Xi, and that the Chinese leader “understands very much” how he feels about the issue.

The US’ official position is that it does not support Taiwanese independence and opposes any unilateral changes to the “status quo” by Beijing or Taipei.

Trump delayed a planned US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan for months. After his last meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump described that deal as “a very good negotiating chip.”

Taiwan’s role as a key chip supplier to meet artificial intelligence demands means the nation has a “symbiotic relationship” with the US, which is “why it should be protected,” Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) said on Sunday in a television interview.

“The United States has been our main supplier for selling weapons to Taiwan,” he said. “We hope that we can get those weapons in as soon as possible.”