US draws line on Taiwan policy after Xi presses Trump to oppose independence

The United States reaffirmed that its Taiwan policy remains unchanged after Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed President Donald Trump at their bilateral summit to formally oppose Taiwan independence — a demand that raised concerns Washington might shift from its longstanding position of "not supporting" independence to "opposing" it, as Beijing has sought.

US Ambassador to China David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday (local time) that Trump "is more resolute on the Taiwan issue than anyone I've ever seen" and "has made it very clear that the 'one China policy' has not changed."

"We support the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiqués and the six assurances," Perdue said. "Our support has not changed." He added that the United States "does not support Taiwan independence, and we do not support Chinese coercion."

The Taiwan Relations Act provides the legal basis for the United States to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons. The three communiqués and six assurances are also core principles that have shaped US Taiwan policy since Washington and Beijing normalized relations.

Perdue also said Trump told Xi that the United States sells weapons to countries around the world, not just Taiwan, and asked whether China would be interested in buying American weapons.

The remarks are widely read as an effort to dispel concerns that US Taiwan policy could be drifting toward China's position following the summit held at the White House on Thursday.

At that meeting, Xi urged Trump to "uphold the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence and handle the Taiwan issue prudently."

Beijing has been pressing Washington to replace its formulation of "not supporting" Taiwan independence with "opposing" it. The single-word difference would commit the United States to a more explicit stance against Taiwan's future political choices, making it one of the most sensitive diplomatic flashpoints between the two countries.

With assessments that Xi raised his demands beyond what he sought during Trump's visit to China last May, Perdue drew a line against any policy shift by citing each of the established principles by name.

Taiwan's representative to the United States echoed the same message. Alexander Yui told CBS on Sunday that "during President Xi's visit to the United States, the US made it very clear that its position on Taiwan has not changed."

Yui also highlighted that ahead of the summit, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where they expressed support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposition to coercion. He said the three countries also reaffirmed their support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations.

Yui also addressed Trump and Xi's emphasis at the summit on US-China cooperation during World War II.

He noted that the China that fought alongside the United States at the time was the Republic of China, which continues today as Taiwan. "The Communist Party government did not exist until 1949," he said. "In 1949, the People's Republic of China was established, and a few years later it fought against US forces in the Korean War, killing American soldiers," he added.

Yui declined to give a direct answer on whether Trump and Taiwan President Lai Ching-te had spoken by phone, saying only that the two sides were "communicating frankly and regularly."