Trump Holds Taiwan Arms Sales After Summit With Xi

President Donald Trump has maintained a $14 billion military hardware sale to Taiwan in abeyance following a three-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington and New York. The delay has drawn criticism from a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers who urged the administration to uphold its arms commitments, specifically challenging Trump's description of Taiwan as a "very good negotiating chip."

During the summit, President Xi urged the United States to oppose Taiwan independence, which Beijing considers a red line. While Trump characterized the meetings as a success and stated that Xi "understands very much how I feel," he declined to restate the official U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity. U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue maintained that the United States has not changed its position on the One China Policy or the Taiwan Relations Act, though he noted that the timing of the pending arms sale remains uncertain.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration's caution, stating that arms sales must be balanced against U.S. global needs and current inventory. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi asserted that the U.S. understands Taiwan's defense needs amid continued military threats from China. Analysts suggest the arms package may be serving as leverage to secure Chinese cooperation on conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, or is being delayed to avoid disrupting upcoming meetings in November and December.