Taiwan said on Thursday (May 14th) there was “nothing surprising” about the outcome of talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, but urged China to stop military intimidation around the island.
The comments came after Xi warned Trump during their summit that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the United States and China.
Xi warns that the Taiwan issue could bring US-China relations into conflict
According to China’s state news agency Xinhua, Xi told Trump during closed-door talks that Taiwan remains “the most important issue in China-US relations.”
People also ask
Artificial intelligence reinforced the insights from this story
•5 QUESTIONS
Xi Jinping has warned President Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the United States and China, putting the entire bilateral relationship at risk.
Taiwan views China’s military activities around the island as the biggest risk to regional stability and is urging Beijing to curb its military intimidation behavior.
China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out using force to bring the island under its control, viewing Taiwan’s independence as incompatible with cross-strait peace.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged and that it would be a “terrible mistake” for China to occupy the island militarily.
Taiwan said there was “nothing surprising” about the outcome of the talks and called on China to stop military intimidation, stressing that Beijing’s actions, not Taiwan’s democratic system, posed the biggest risk to regional stability.
“If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, which will jeopardize the entire relationship,” Xi said, according to a statement later echoed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning on X.
The warning underscored Beijing’s growing anger over US military support for Taiwan, including an $11 billion arms package approved by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Rubio says US policy on Taiwan has not changed
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to downplay Xi’s warning, saying China routinely raises Taiwan during bilateral discussions.
“They always bring it up on their side. We always make our position clear and move on to other topics,” Rubio told NBC News while traveling with Trump.
US policy on Taiwan remains “unchanged,” Rubio said, adding that it would be a “terrible mistake” for China to occupy the island militarily.
The United States remains Taiwan’s largest arms supplier and has long maintained a policy of helping the island defend itself, despite having no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
Taiwan says China’s military pressure is a real threat
Liang Wen-chieh, spokesman for the Mainland Affairs Council, said in Taipei that Taiwan was closely monitoring the development, but the summit did not reveal any major surprises.
“At this point, all we can say is that there has been no surprising information yet, and we will continue to communicate closely with the US side,” Liang told reporters.
He argued that Beijing’s military activities—not Taiwan’s democratic system or international partnerships—pose the greatest risk to regional stability.
“If maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is really the greatest common denominator between China and the United States, then the Chinese Communist Party should curb its own military intimidation behavior,” Liang said.
China has stepped up military operations around Taiwan in recent years, sending warplanes and naval vessels near the island on an almost daily basis.
Read also | Si ‘blunt’ warning to Trump: What ‘Taiwan issue’ haunts US-China relations?
Trump praises Xi ahead of closed-door meeting
Before the meeting began, Trump publicly praised Xi Jinping in front of reporters.
“You’re a great leader. Sometimes people don’t like me saying that, but I say it anyway because it’s the truth,” Trump told Si.
“It’s an honor to be your friend,” Trump added, while predicting that US-China relations “will be better than ever.”
A statement from the White House later made no direct mention of Taiwan, and Trump did not respond to reporters’ pointed questions about whether the topic had been discussed.
Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claims to sovereignty
China claims the democratically administered Taiwan as part of its territory and has never ruled out using force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing has branded Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a “separatist” and warned that moves towards formal independence could trigger war.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims to sovereignty, insisting that only the island’s residents can decide their future.
Liang rejected Beijing’s accusations of separatism, saying the Taiwanese government was focused on maintaining the status quo.
“In their view, the arms purchase is ‘Taiwan independence’.” Arresting bandit spies is ‘Taiwan independence,’” Liang said.
Read also | Inflation, Hormuz, Trump-Xi: global stories to watch
