onsdag 23. september 2026

Taiwan is watching closely as Xi and Trump meet and hopes US will keep up its arms sales

As China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, Taiwan expressed confidence that U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own will continue — despite China’s pressure.

China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China. Still, the U.S. government and Congress have “repeatedly expressed support for Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Chiao Fu-chun told reporters in the southern city of Tainan.