Trump warns Taiwan against independence after high-stakes meeting with Xi

President Donald Trump on Friday (May 15) cautioned Taiwan against declaring formal independence following a state visit to China, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed him to withhold US support from the self-ruling island. Concluding his trip, Trump claimed to have brokered "fantastic" trade deals, though details remained vague, and he appeared to secure no breakthrough regarding his stalemated war on Iran. However, signalling a mutual desire for stability in the turbulent relationship between the world's two largest economies, Trump invited Xi to Washington for a reciprocal visit in September.

Addressing a core issue for the Chinese leader, Trump explicitly stated his opposition to a Taiwanese independence declaration and questioned whether the United States should defend the island if it were attacked. "I'm not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that," Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier. "I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down. We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that."

While the US recognises only Beijing and does not support formal independence for Taiwan, it has historically stopped short of explicitly stating opposition to it. Furthermore, though US law mandates providing weapons to Taiwan for its defence, Washington has traditionally maintained strategic ambiguity regarding whether US forces would directly intervene. The warnings follow an opening caution from Xi at the start of the summit, who told Trump that missteps on the highly sensitive issue could push the two nations into "conflict." Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te maintains that the island is already independent, rendering a formal declaration unnecessary.