The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China.
Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend.
“They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.”
Photo: AFP
Trump’s use of the word “unification,” almost always used in the context of China unifying or annexing Taiwan, raised eyebrows in Taiwan.
However, the state department said that Trump was not thinking of Taiwan.
“It’s clear President Trump was speaking in the context of the US-China trade relationship,” a state department spokesperson told Central News Agency on Monday.
Just prior to using the term “unification,” Trump reflected on a trade deal with China that fell through during his first term, saying it “would have brought unity, better unity, between China and the United States” — a comment that suggests that he might have misused the term “unification.”
The state department said that “US policy on Taiwan remains the same.”
“We continue to have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” it said, adding that the US “opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.”
The American Institute in Taiwan also clarified that Trump’s remarks were focused on trade.
“US policy on Taiwan remains the same, and the US approach to Taiwan has remained consistent across decades and administrations,” it said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs echoed this interpretation, agreeing that the comment was made in a trade context.
“According to our understanding, the Taiwan issue was not touched on during the latest round of US-China trade negotiations,” ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said during a weekly briefing yesterday.
“The US’ commitment to Taiwan remains strong and unchanged,” Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
Trump’s comments followed two days of talks in Switzerland between the world’s two largest economies, during which the two sides agreed to ease their tit-for-tat battle over tariffs.
Under the preliminary agreement, the US is to lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 to 30 percent, while China is to reduce levies on US goods from 125 to 10 percent.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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