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Xi to Press Trump on Halting Taiwan Arms Sales During Washington Visit
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Firstpost•22-09-2026, 13:23
Xi to Press Trump on Halting Taiwan Arms Sales During Washington Visit
- •Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to urge US counterpart Donald Trump to suspend arms sales to Taiwan during their Washington meeting, according to Reuters sources.
- •Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has long demanded an end to US arms sales, while the US is legally obligated to help Taiwan defend itself.
- •China plans to invoke the 1982 US-China communique, where the US expressed intent to reduce Taiwan arms sales, though this was conditioned on China's peaceful approach to Taiwan.
- •The diplomatic push comes amid increased Chinese military activity near Taiwan over the past five years, including live-fire drills.
- •China has also reportedly sought a halt to deliveries of weapons Taiwan has already ordered, with Xi potentially blaming Taiwan for US-China instability.
Key Questions Answered
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to press US President Donald Trump to suspend arms sales and deliveries of already-ordered weapons to Taiwan during their meeting in Washington.
China is expected to invoke the third of three joint communiques signed by Washington and Beijing in 1982, in which the US stated its intention to gradually scale back arms sales to Taiwan.
In exchange for concessions regarding Taiwan, China has offered to help apply pressure on Iran concerning the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
