Taiwan Is Careful Before a Big US-China Meeting
Taiwan says China may try to use the Taiwan issue in next week's Trump-Xi meeting, but US officials have told Taipei that American policy has not changed.
Taiwan is watching very carefully before an important meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A top Taiwanese intelligence official said China may try to use the Taiwan issue during the talks in Beijing next week. Taiwan is one of the most sensitive subjects in the relationship between China and the United States.
China says Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan rejects that claim and governs itself as a democracy.
Taiwanese officials are worried that Beijing could ask for changes from Washington. They do not want the United States to soften its long-standing position in exchange for trade deals or other economic benefits.
A senior Taiwan security official said the main goal of the Trump-Xi meeting will probably be to manage problems, not fully solve them. He said there could be political maneuvering, but he also said the United States has repeated that its policy on Taiwan has not changed.
That message is important for Taipei. Taiwan depends heavily on US political and military support, even though the two sides do not have formal diplomatic relations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said both Washington and Beijing understand that neither side wants a destabilizing event over Taiwan right now.
So the mood around the meeting is cautious. Taiwan is not expecting a final answer to its concerns, but it wants to make sure it is not treated like a bargaining chip in a much larger US-China negotiation.