{"id":429618,"date":"2026-05-15T22:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/429618\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T22:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:10:16","slug":"trump-weighs-taiwan-arms-package-after-summit-with-chinas-xi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/429618\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump weighs Taiwan arms package after summit with China’s Xi"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump said that he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

Trump’s comments on Taiwan \u2014 a self-ruled island that China claims as its own territory \u2014 came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made<\/a> in stabilising US-China relations, even as big differences persist between the world\u2019s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be making decisions,” Trump said. “But, you know, I think the last thing we need right now is a war that\u2019s 9500 miles away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Republican administration in December authorised a record-setting US$11 billion (NZ$18 billion) weapons package for Taipei, but it has yet to move forward. Lawmakers also approved a US$14 billion (NZ$23 billion) arms sale to Taiwan in January, but the sale cannot advance until Trump formally sends it to Congress. China opposes such sales and has suggested that Washington\u2019s relationship with the self-governing island is the key factor in US-China relations.<\/p>\n

Trump said Xi also reiterated China’s strong opposition to Taiwan\u2019s independence<\/a>. \u201cI heard him out,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI didn\u2019t make a comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump’s consultation with Xi<\/a> about arms sales to Taiwan may violate the so-called Six Assurances, a set of nonbinding US policy principles formulated in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan that have helped guide the US relationship with Taipei, according to analysts.<\/p>\n

The second of the Six Assurances states that the US \u201cdid not agree to consult with the People\u2019s Republic of China on arms sales to Taiwan\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump said the issue of the 1982 assurances came up in the talks with Xi.<\/p>\n

Trump says Xi is ‘very positive’ about a potential nuclear deal<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump attend a meeting on the sidelines of their visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, China, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Trump also said he raised a potential three-way nuclear deal that would involve the US, Russia and China. He wants each of the three countries to sign a pact that would cap the number of nuclear warheads in their arsenals. China has previously been cool to entering such a pact.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s arsenal, according to Pentagon estimates, exceeds 600 warheads and is far from parity with the US and Russia, which are each estimated to have more than 5000 warheads. But Trump suggested Xi was receptive to the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a very a positive response,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThis is the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last nuclear arms pact, known as the New START treaty, between Russia and the United States expired in February, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. As the treaty was set to expire, Trump rejected a call by Russia to extend the two-country deal for another year and called for \u201ca new, improved and modernised\u201d deal that includes China.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon estimates China will have more than 1000 nuclear warheads by 2030.<\/p>\n

Trump was impressed by Chinese presidential residence<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump walks with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Beijing. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Xi welcomed Trump at his official residence, Zhongnanhai, on Friday (local time) for their final engagement of the summit before the US leader\u2019s return to Washington. The leaders took a short walk through the grounds that feature ancient trees and Chinese roses, and they strolled through a covered passageway with green columns and archways painted with birds and traditional Chinese mountain scenes.<\/p>\n

Over tea and lunch, Trump and Xi \u2014 with top aides and translators in tow \u2014 huddled for nearly three hours of talks before the US leader completed his three-day visit to China.<\/p>\n

Trump appeared impressed by the bucolic grounds, remarking that the roses were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Xi promised to send him some rose seeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really a great couple of days,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n

Xi, for his part, called it a \u201cmilestone\u201d visit. \u201cWe have established a new bilateral relationship, or rather a constructive, strategic, stable relationship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the optimistic outlook collides with some difficult truths about the thorniest issues between the two superpowers.<\/p>\n

Beijing has shown little public interest in US entreaties to get more involved in solving the conflict in Iran, even though Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Xi had, in their conversations, offered to help.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the US State Department has accused Chinese firms of providing satellite imagery to the Iranian government, and the Treasury Department has moved to target Chinese oil refineries accused of buying oil from Tehran, as well as shippers of the oil.<\/p>\n

Xi on Thursday warned Trump during private talks that their differences on Taiwan, if handled poorly, could hurtle the world’s dominant powers toward \u201cclashes and even conflicts\u201d, according to Chinese government officials.<\/p>\n

But Trump, as he made his way home, said he was not concerned that the US-China relationship was in danger. \u201cI think we will be fine,” he said.<\/p>\n

Taiwan remains the most important issue for China<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) honour guards march on the day of the welcome ceremony for US President Donald Trump by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Xi’s sharp language on Taiwan loomed large over the visit, with Chinese government officials amplifying his view that differences on the island pose the biggest risk to US-Chinese relations.<\/p>\n

But Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that US policy toward Taiwan was \u201cunchanged\u201d and cautioned that it would be \u201ca terrible mistake\u201d for China to try to take Taiwan by force. He also framed Xi’s comments as standard practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics,\u201d said Rubio, who was among the senior aides to join Trump for the talks.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans in Congress expressed displeasure at Trump’s pronouncement that he has not decided whether to move forward with the arms package for Taiwan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to support Taiwan, just like we have to support Ukraine,\u201d said Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican. \u201cThese are the fortresses of democracy, and they\u2019re on the front lines, and we have to protect and defend them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Representative Michael McCaul said he was not surprised that Xi came out with an aggressive posture on Taiwan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to arm Taiwan so they can defend themselves for deterrence,\u201d McCaul said.<\/p>\n

China wants the Strait of Hormuz opened<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump walks during a welcome ceremony as he arrives on Air Force One, Wednesday, May 13 (local time), 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Trump said he and Xi also spoke at length about Iran.<\/p>\n

The leaders agreed that the critical Strait of Hormuz \u2014 effectively closed since the start of the Iran conflict \u2014 needs to be reopened to support global energy demands. About 20% of the world\u2019s oil flowed through the strait before the war started on February 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel very similar about (how) we want it to end,\u201d the President said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them to have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House officials said Xi was also opposed to any implementation of tolls on vessels crossing the strait and expressed interest in China potentially purchasing US oil to reduce Chinese dependence on Gulf oil in the future.<\/p>\n

Trump earlier this week downplayed the importance of talks with Xi on the 11-week-old Iran war that has led to surging energy prices and threatens to plunge the global economy into recession if the conflict does not conclude soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US President Donald Trump said that he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2300,65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-429618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-asia","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}