China Power | Diplomacy | East Asia

The Trump-Xi Summit Is Over, But Taiwan Is Still Bracing for the Fallout

Given what happened in May, Taiwanese may have been more nervous after the latest Trump-Xi summit ended. 

U.S. President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China arrive via the Cross Hall to a State Arrival ceremony on the State Floor of the White House, Sep.24, 2026.

The latest meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping led to much anxiety in Taiwan, with fears that Trump could potentially throw Taiwan under the bus in the course of negotiations with Xi. The two leaders agreed to dialogue on AI, as well as tariff reductions on $30 billion in “non-sensitive goods” going both ways. Even so, readouts between the two sides differed as to what was agreed to be purchased, and any discussion of semiconductors, chips, and export controls was not mentioned. 

Besides trade deals, there have been few concrete outcomes from the meeting to date, and the two leaders initially remained silent when asked by reporters if Taiwan featured in their summit. Trump later denied that Taiwan was discussed at length, then stated that he and Xi “didn’t spend a lot of time talking about Taiwan.”

Other reports suggest that Xi tried press Trump to curtail support for Taiwan, and accept Beijing’s framing on Taiwan. Chinese state-run media quoted Xi as stating during the meeting: “I hope that the United States adheres to the correct position of opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ and handles the Taiwan issue prudently.” 

In particular, ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, international media reporting suggested that Xi would try to convince Trump to cut weapons sales to Taiwan. Although the Trump administration approved $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan last December, the Trump administration has yet to approve a further $14 billion package. 

It was generally understood that Trump would not approve the arms sale ahead of his meeting with Xi, in order to ensure that the talks went smoothly. For its part, the Taiwanese government has attempted to reassure the public that ties with the United States are stable, and reiterated that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed after the summit. Nevertheless, the real question will be whether Trump reveals any unexpected curveballs for Taiwan after the meeting itself. 

If so, this would follow the precedent set by Trump after his meeting with Xi in May 2026 in Beijing. Little happened during the meeting itself, which was mostly a non-event. In May, as with this latest summit, Trump initially declined to answer questions on Taiwan from reporters. The readouts of the May 2026 meeting differed between the United States and China, with the U.S. denying that Taiwan had come up at all, while China claimed that it had been discussed. As if to forestall a potential shift in position by Trump,  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized during the May trip that U.S. policy on Taiwan was unchanged in an interview with NBC. 

During an interview with Fox News shortly after his return from China, however, Trump seemed to hit out at Taiwan, stating that he was “not looking to have somebody go independent,” and that Taiwan needed “cool down a bit.” Trump then moved on to attack Taiwan with accusations that it had stolen the U.S. semiconductor industry, while calling on semiconductor companies to move back to the United States. 

Most alarming of all, Trump cast doubt on U.S. commitment to Taiwan as a whole, while suggesting that the Taiwan-U.S. relationship was mostly transactional. In particular, Trump suggested that arms sales to Taiwan were up for negotiation, and that this made for a “good bargaining chip” in talks with China. 

Such comments provoked alarm in Taiwan, seeing as this contravenes U.S. commitments to provide weapons to Taiwan dating back to the Reagan-era Three Assurances. Trump also raised questions about whether the United States would intervene in the event of a conflict with China, stating that he did not think it was logical for American troops to “travel 9,500 miles to........

© The Diplomat