Xi and Trump Discuss Taiwan Again
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump again discussed the issue of Taiwan in a phone call that lasted approximately an hour. Xi capitalized on diplomatic tensions with Japan to assert China's claim to Taiwan as part of the post-World War II international order. He also recalled that China and the US had once stood on the same side against fascism and militarism.
In his statement, Trump did not mention Taiwan or Japan. He only emphasized the progress of trade talks and called US-China relations "very strong." However, hours later, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Trump had contacted her to brief her on the content of their conversation with Xi and reaffirm the importance of the US-Japan alliance.
However, questions remain about how far Trump is willing to go toward China. Trump has accepted an invitation to visit Beijing in April and has signaled he could ease some national security restrictions, including those on the sale of Nvidia's advanced AI chips. He has also questioned his commitment to Taiwan's security, while Xi has repeatedly used China's economic power—such as its dominance in rare earths—to pressure the US in the trade war.
China-Japan tensions have been heating up since November 7, when Takaichi hinted that Japanese troops could be involved in a crisis in Taiwan. China responded with economic pressure, strong condemnation, and even taking the issue to the UN. The risk for Taiwan is if Xi attempts to exploit this situation to pit the US against its Asian allies, including Japan, while also pressuring US arms sales to Taiwan and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's transit efforts through US territory.
So far, several US officials, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have emphasized that Washington has no intention of sacrificing Taiwan for the sake of a trade deal with Beijing. However, overt support for Japan has come more from lower-level officials, such as the US ambassador in Tokyo. This Trump-Xi call is seen as Beijing's attempt to test the official US stance on Taiwan and Japan, while also confirming that the Taiwan issue will be a key topic ahead of Trump's visit to Beijing next year. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
