US weighs delaying Taiwan arms sales until after Apec and G20 summits

The United States is considering postponing the announcement of major arms sales to Taiwan until after November’s Apec summit in Shenzhen, multiple sources told the South China Morning Post. The potential delay comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to travel to Washington next week for a state visit.

The sources said there was a strong possibility US President Donald Trump could extend the delay through to the end of the year, pointing to a planned bilateral meeting between the two leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and Xi’s expected visit to Florida for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in December.

One source said Trump was considering various options to postpone the signing of Taiwan arms sales, but the final outcome would be a “compromise between him, the China hawks and Taiwan’s lobbyists”.

“President Trump has considered delaying the [Taiwan] arms sales decision till end 2028 or January 2029, that is, towards the end of his current term. However, he faced very loud opposition from hawks after floating the idea,” he said.