 "'It's up to Xi': Is that Trump's new position on Taiwan?")
US President Donald Trump has said that “it’s up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping on what he wants to do about Taiwan, in an apparent change of stance on Washington’s Taiwan policy.
The US president, at the same time, also said that he would be “very unhappy” with a change in the status quo. Talking to the New York Times, Trump said, “He (Xi) considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing.”
“But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that. I hope he doesn’t do that,” he added.
The US government under Trump has had a tough stance on China’s belligerent moves against Taiwan and backs the island country’s territorial integrity.
‘He won’t do it while I’m president’
Trump also claimed that Xi will not order an invasion of Taiwan while he holds the Oval Office, rejecting concerns that Washington’s operation in Venezuela set precedence.
“He may do it after we have a different president, but I don’t think he’s going to do it with me as president,” he said.
When asked if the recent capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces set a new global precedent, Trump countered that the situation in Venezuela is not comparable to the tensions between China and Taiwan.
The president justified the military action by labelling Venezuela a “real threat,” specifically alleging that Maduro “dumped gang members into America.” Distinguishing this from the geopolitical situation in Asia, he noted, “You didn’t have people pouring into China,” while further pointing out that Beijing was not dealing with “drugs flowing across its borders.”
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View AllUS on Taiwan
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own, and Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims.
“The Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair, and how to resolve it is a matter purely within China’s sovereign rights,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington.
The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but Washington is the island’s most important international backer and is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. The issue has been an irritant in U.S.-China relations for years.
Trump has largely avoided directly saying how he would respond to a rise in tensions over the island.
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