US President Donald Trump said Xi Jinping understands the consequences if China invades Taiwan, while refusing to specifically say the United States would defend the island, according to an extract of a CBS News interview broadcast on Sunday.
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Trump said Taiwan “never even came up as a subject” when he met the Chinese president in South Korea on Thursday for their first face-to-face meeting in six years.
Asked on CBS’ 60 Minutes whether he would order US forces into action if China moved militarily on Taiwan, Trump said: “You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that.”
But Trump declined to spell out what he meant in the interview conducted on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, adding: “I can’t give away my secrets. The other side knows.”
The US president claimed that Xi and those close to him had “openly said” that “we would never do anything while President Trump is president”, because they know the “consequences”.
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Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.