US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration will not abandon long-standing US support for Taiwan in negotiations with China to reach a trade agreement.
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“If what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal where we’re going to get favourable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan – no one is contemplating that,” Rubio told reporters on his plane Saturday en route from Israel to join President Donald Trump in Doha on their way to a regional meeting in Asia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed a push for the US to change its long-standing policy that it does not support Taiwan’s independence.
China has asked the Trump administration to officially declare that it “opposes” independence, a concession that would amount to a major diplomatic win for Beijing.
Trump is scheduled to meet Xi next week while attending a regional summit in South Korea, their first in-person meeting since Trump returned to office in January.
Trump says Xi meeting scheduled in South Korea
Trump says Xi meeting scheduled in South Korea
Taiwan is one of the biggest flashpoints in China’s relationship with the US, which is already fraught over issues such as trade, technology transfers and human rights.