Reuters: Xi at a meeting with trump will demand to stop arms sales to Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington will raise the issue of stopping American arms supplies to Taiwan, three sources told Reuters. They said China could also ask to halt the delivery of weapons already ordered by Taiwan in exchange for assistance in pressuring Iran.

Xi Jinping will arrive in Washington on September 23. Official talks with Mr. Trump will take place the next day, and on September 25, the Chinese leader can visit the US National Archives. According to sources, it is there that the parties may discuss the issue of supplying weapons to Taiwan.

As Reuters notes, Xi Jinping will refer to the agreement of the United States and China in 1982, which provides for the gradual reduction of American supplies to the island. In an accompanying memo, U.S. President Ronald Reagan linked this commitment to China’s willingness to resolve differences with Taiwan peacefully.

In addition, in contrast to this document, in the same year, the United States provided Taiwan with “six guarantees”, in which it pledged not to set a deadline for the cessation of arms supplies and not to require prior coordination with Beijing. At the same time, the United States officially adheres to the “one China” policy and does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Beijing considers Taiwan its territory, while the island's authorities reject the country's claims to sovereignty.

In December, the U.S. administration approved the largest ever arms package to Taiwan worth $11 billion. Another package worth about $14 billion has been on hold for months. After meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, Donald Trump called the package a "good negotiating tool.".

Anna Barysheva