In the dispute with China over further US arms sales to the island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims, US President Donald Trump says he has not yet made a decision.
“I will make a decision in the near future,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on his flight back to the United States.
However, he first had to speak to “the person” who is currently “running Taiwan,” said Trump, without naming anyone. Taiwan’s current president is Lai Ching-te.
China sees the arms sales as a problem because it claims Taiwan as its own, even though the island republic has a government independent of Beijing. Beijing wants to annex Taiwan and has already threatened to use the military if this does not work peacefully. The US supports Taiwan’s efforts to modernize its armed forces and strengthen defense capabilities.
What the arms sale is about
The possible arms sale would be worth 14 billion US dollars (the equivalent of around 12 billion euros). The US Congress had already approved it in January 2025. According to senators, Parliament has not yet been informed a few days ago that the sales to the island republic had been approved by the government in Washington.
At a meeting with Trump in Beijing, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping warned of possible conflicts with the USA if the Taiwan issue was handled poorly. This could put China-US relations in an “extremely dangerous situation,” Xi said.
Trump said on the plane that Xi had a very clear opinion about Taiwan and rejected the independence of the island republic. Trump said he had not committed himself to any direction. He doesn’t believe there will be a conflict between the US and China over Taiwan. “You know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war happening 9,500 miles away,” Trump said.
Why China senses Taiwan’s independence efforts
The Democratic Progressive Party has been in power in Taipei since 2016. Because Taiwan independence is part of its program, Beijing views the government as separatists.
However, President Lai stated that he did not want to strive for formal independence because, from his point of view, the island state with its 23 million inhabitants is already essentially an independent country. Taiwan’s opposition, which has a majority in parliament and advocates for more exchanges with China, recently put forward its own proposal for a special defense budget that includes further US arms purchases.
Iran oil: Trump is considering easing sanctions for China
US President Donald Trump is considering easing sanctions against Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil. The Republican said on the flight back from his state visit to China that he would decide on this in the next few days. That was part of the talks with President Xi Jinping.
The US Treasury Department has recently imposed sanctions several times against Chinese companies that the US claims are carrying out illicit trade with Iran. Among other things, this involved refineries that process crude oil from Iran. Chinese support for Iran is a point of tension in the relationship between Washington and Beijing. For example, Chinese refineries are a leading buyer of oil from Iran.
BEIJING (dpa-AFX)