In an interview with Fox News aired after his two-day visit to China, Trump said the longstanding US policy on Taiwan remained unchanged. But he also expressed opposition to any declaration of independence by the self-ruled island.
“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent, and you know, we’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war,” Trump said. “I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down, I want China to cool down.”
The remarks came after high-level talks in Beijing, where Taiwan emerged as a key issue between Washington and Beijing. Trump suggested the United States should avoid being drawn into a military conflict over Taiwan, while also indicating uncertainty over future US arms sales to the island.
“I may do it, I may not do it. We’re not looking to have somebody say, ‘Let’s go independent because the United States is backing us. Taiwan would be very smart to cool it a little bit. China would be very smart to cool it a little bit. They ought to both cool it,” Trump said.
The United States officially recognises Beijing and does not support formal Taiwanese independence. However, under US law, Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, while being ambiguous over whether US forces would intervene in the event of a Chinese attack.
On the flight back to Washington, the US President had told reporters that he and Xi had spoken a lot about the island, but said he had declined to discuss whether the US would defend it.
Trump said Chinese President Xi “feels very strongly” about Taiwan and “doesn’t want to see an independence movement.”
According to Chinese state media, Xi warned during the summit that Taiwan remained “the most important issue in China-US relations” and cautioned that mishandling the matter could lead to conflict between the two powers.
Trump, however, downplayed the risk of conflict, saying he believed Xi did not want war. “No, I don’t think so. I think we’ll be fine,” he said when asked whether he foresaw a clash with China over Taiwan.
The US President concluded his visit claiming progress on trade ties, saying China had agreed to purchase 200 Boeing aircraft along with increased imports of American oil and soybeans, as reported by AFP.
He described the talks as resulting in ‘fantastic trade deals’ beneficial to both countries, though no formal agreements were immediately announced by either side.
The summit also featured symbolic gestures aimed at improving ties, with Xi reportedly promising to send rose seeds for the White House Rose Garden and describing Trump’s visit as a ‘milestone’.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” Trump was quoted as saying by AFP.
Jacob Stokes, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said the meeting appeared focused more on improving atmospherics between the two leaders than on securing concrete policy breakthroughs, particularly on major geopolitical disputes including Taiwan and Iran.
“Trump got the optics he was looking for and the Chinese were happy to give them to him,” Stokes said.
