Washington — Former President Donald Trump said Friday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping gave him personal assurances that Beijing would not attempt military action against Taiwan while he remained in office.
In an interview on Fox News, Trump compared the tense Taiwan issue to Russia’s war in Ukraine ahead of his scheduled talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“He told me very directly, ‘I won’t do it while you’re president,’” Trump said of Xi. “I said, ‘I appreciate that.’ But he also made it clear that China is patient — very patient.”
Trump and Xi spoke by phone earlier this summer, their first publicly confirmed conversation since Trump began his second term. Trump has also said Xi reached out to him in the spring, though he did not provide details of that exchange.
Beijing considers Taiwan a part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan, which governs itself democratically, rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington reiterated Beijing’s long-standing position, calling Taiwan “the most sensitive issue” in the U.S.–China relationship. Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu urged Washington to abide by the “one-China” framework and maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Although the United States does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, it is the island’s primary supplier of military equipment and its strongest international partner.
