China threatens US meeting over arms sales

China has warned that it could cancel a planned US-China leaders’ summit if Washington approves new arms sales to Taiwan, a Japanese media outlet quoted sources as saying yesterday.

US President Donald Trump, “apparently eager to showcase some diplomatic achievements ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections, places great importance on holding the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平),” Japan’s Kyodo News reported.

“While preparing for Xi’s upcoming trip, China has restated its position that the Taiwan issue is a ‘red line’ in bilateral relations,” the report said.

US President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping are pictured in Beijing on May 14.

Photo: AFP

The report said that when Xi met with Trump in Beijing in May, Xi said Taiwan was the “most important issue” in US-China relations and warned that mishandling the issue could trigger a conflict.

Trump later told reporters that arms sales to Taiwan could be a “very good bargaining chip” in his negotiations with China, raising concerns about the US’ long-term security commitments to its allies in Asia, the report said.

The report said that under the Taiwan Relations Act, the US provides Taiwan with weapons to help it maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.

In December last year, the Trump administration announced an arms sales package to Taiwan worth about US$11 billion, setting a new record for the value of a US arms sale to Taiwan, it said.

During Trump’s visit in China in May, he extended an invitation to Xi to visit Washington on Sept. 24.

China is yet to officially announce plans for Xi’s visit to the US.

Meanwhile, the US is stepping up economic sanctions aimed at isolating Iran, and attention is turning to how China, a longtime supporter of Iran, would respond, the Kyodo News report said, quoting sources as saying that Beijing is willing to coordinate with Washington on the issue of Iran.