US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks.
“I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia.
“No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying.
Photo: Reuters
A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters that the US and China on Saturday conducted “very constructive” trade talks in Malaysia, ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea on Thursday.
“Today’s talks have concluded. They have been very constructive, and we expect them to resume in the morning,” the spokesman said, referring to the meeting between the world’s two superpowers led by US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) in Kuala Lumpur.
The meeting took place one day before the APEC summit in South Korea.
Trump said that he hopes to reach a “good” deal with China and end the trade war.
On Friday, he told reporters that he would bring up the Taiwan issue during his meeting with Xi.
“I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump said before departing for his trip to Asia.
The US president also expressed “a lot of respect for Taiwan.”
Taiwan is not the most pressing issue for Washington and Beijing to deal with, and Trump is not expected to make any major adjustment to Washington’s long-held stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty when meeting Xi, two Taiwanese academics said.
However, the Taiwan issue is still the most “sensitive, critical, and core issue” in their bilateral relationship, Tamkang University Center for Cross-Strait Relations director Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳) said.
That is why the US’ and China’s top leaders need to make sure both understand the other’s “bottom line” on the issue to avoid misjudgement by either side, which could lead to confrontations, Chang said.
Meanwhile, Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢), chair of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, said that Trump wanted to focus the bilateral talks with Xi on rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans.
Wang said it is Beijing that brought up the Taiwan issue for discussions between Xi and Trump.
Trump is unlikely to make any major concessions on Taiwan, and is likely to keep the same stance as former US president Joe Biden, Wang said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Wednesday said that the US has assured Taiwan that Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed when Trump meets with Xi.
“The US side has repeatedly told us that it remains steadfast in its support for Taiwan and that its exchanges with China will not harm Taiwan’s interests,” Lin said during a legislative session.
Lin thanked the US for once more publicly stating its firm stance on Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
In Trump’s second term as US president, Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, including a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the US, Japan and South Korea during the UN General Assembly last month in New York, and the G7 leaders’ support for peace and stability in the Strait, the ministry said.
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