Another Trump-Xi summit is not a good idea, especially not before the White House allows a stalled arms sale to Taipei to finally be finalized. But last Friday, President Trump announced “that he will make a trip to Turkey later in 2026, as well as a second trip to China.”
“We’re doing a lot of trips. We’ll be going to Turkey. We’ll be going at some point during the year back to China.”
Further huddling with Xi Jinping invites disaster if Trump cannot restrain himself from being further “persuaded,” if this is the right word, by the Chinese Communist Party’s irrational perspective on the Republic of China, which the Party pretends is not a country; and by the Party’s preference that Taipei be as militarily weak as possible.
Right after his two-day series of meetings with Xi in Beijing last month, Trump told reporters vis-à-vis the ROC that “I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” a statement that is incoherent and inexplicable except as a mouthing of CCP propaganda. He also said that he wanted both the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, which is often called Taiwan, to “cool it a little bit.”
That the ROC is obliged to defend itself from Beijing’s demands and belligerence is not hard to grasp. Nor is the ROC’s sovereignty hard to grasp. The BBC notes that Republic of China President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that his country “does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.” Yes, except that this is not quite what Lai is saying. He is not saying that he or his countrymen “see” their country as sovereign. Lai is saying that the ROC is sovereign and independent. The same way people say “The ball is round” rather than “I see the ball as round.” He is relating a fact, not an opinion. Xi Jinping blasts “separatists” like Lai for trying to “move toward” independence. But you cannot “move toward” a place you’re already at.
Lai Ching-te is also saying that to declare this fact formally—whatever this formality could consist of in addition to repeated and explicit propaganda-countering statements by the president of the Republic of China—would be superfluous. It would also be perverse. Countries celebrate anniversaries and they hold ceremonies. But no country that has been a going concern for decades holds a special “we really, really are a country” ceremony.
The U.S. president’s assertions and implications about these matters cannot be dismissed as carelessness when we juxtapose them with his decision, renewed day after day, week after week, to keep Taipei on tenterhooks about a previously agreed upon major arms sale.
Also see:
Newsweek: “Trump Is Surrounded by China Hawks” (November 14, 2024)
Politico: “Trump’s disappearing China hawks” (May 13, 2026)
