Trump‑Xi May Summit Puts Taiwan at Center
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- Trump will travel to Beijing in May for a summit where Xi has placed Taiwan at the top of the agenda.
- Xi has elevated Taiwan to the chief issue, a reversal from the 2025 South Korea meeting where the topic was avoided.
- Wu Xinbo of Fudan University says Trump wants to avoid war and will not support Taiwan independence.
- Taiwan (23 million people) faces a high‑stakes summit where its fate may be decided without its participation.
- US has approved considerably more weapons sales to Taiwan in just over a year of Trump's second term than Biden did throughout his presidency.
- China asked Biden in 2024 to change US language to “we oppose Taiwan independence”; the US declined.
Why it matters: Taiwan's 23 million citizens lose diplomatic influence as US keeps Taiwan policy unchanged ahead of the May summit; China gains leverage for trade deals; US defense contractors see a surge in Taiwan arms sales.
