TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “Taiwan is Taiwan” when asked if it will come up at the upcoming meeting with China's leader, CNA reported.
According to Fox News, Trump admitted aboard Air Force One that Xi Jinping might ask about Taiwan during their meeting. However, he said “there is not that much to ask about.”
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Taiwan should not worry about being used as a “bargaining chip” in trade talks with China. He told Reuters no one in Washington is considering any trade deal that would “walk away from Taiwan.”
Reuters reported Tuesday that Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said he is not worried that Trump will “abandon” Taiwan during the meeting between the two leaders. Lin added “our Taiwan-US relations are very stable.”
Trump has sent mixed signals on Taiwan, trying to cut trade deals with Beijing while holding off on new arms sales to Taipei. Some in Taiwan fear Trump could trade away the country’s interests when he meets Xi, per Reuters.
The US president will meet with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea on Thursday. It will be their first face-to-face talk since the G20 summit in Japan in 2019.
