Moolenaar Urges Trump to Take Tough Line With Xi — SkimNews
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- John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, wrote to Trump urging a tough line at his Sept. 24 summit with Xi Jinping, warning that concessions aimed at stabilizing US-China relations would be a mistake.
- Moolenaar said Trump should raise reports that Chinese entities provided targeting support for Iranian strikes that killed US service members, calling such support "tantamount to an act of war against the United States."
- Moolenaar called for redoubled efforts to block China from accessing American AI technologies and US and allied semiconductor manufacturing technology, calling China the US's "foremost foreign adversary."
- Trump said Xi pressed him on US arms sales to Taiwan during his May visit to Beijing, and Trump later described a pending $14 billion package as a "negotiating chip."
- Beijing is pushing Trump to publicly state the US opposes Taiwan's independence, a shift from Washington's decades-long formulation of simply not supporting independence.
- Moolenaar said Chinese objections to US arms sales and security cooperation with Taiwan and Asian allies should be "rejected out of hand," and urged Trump to maintain pressure over the detention of US citizens in China.
Why it matters: Congressional China hawks are publicly pre-loading opposition to any Trump-Xi concessions, with Moolenaar singling out a pending $14 billion Taiwan arms package, AI and semiconductor export curbs, and a new flashpoint — alleged Chinese targeting support for Iranian strikes that killed US troops. If Trump softens on any of those at the summit, the letter gives hawks a ready-made record to attack.
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