The United States will not fight a war over Taiwan, President Donald Trump has declared, while revealing that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping “talked a lot” about the island during his state visit to Beijing.
However, Trump stopped short of approving arms sales to the island, leaving open the future of major arms packages.
In an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier in Beijing, Trump said: “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent and we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles (about 15,300km) to fight a war. I’m not looking for that.”
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The remarks appeared aimed at Taiwan’s independence-leaning leader, William Lai Ching-te.
In the interview, a clip from which aired on Friday morning Eastern time, Trump also reiterated that the US policy on Taiwan remained unchanged.
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Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after wrapping up his visit, Trump said he and Xi “talked a lot about Taiwan” during their formal and informal exchanges over Thursday and Friday.