In a recent interview with CBS’s ’60 Minutes,’ President Donald Trump revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured him that Beijing will not pursue its long-standing goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China during Trump’s presidency. This assurance came despite the issue of Taiwan not being a primary topic in their recent discussions in South Korea, which largely centered on U.S.-China trade tensions. Trump expressed confidence in Xi’s commitment, stating, ‘He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences.’
The U.S. has long been wary of China’s potential military actions against Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as part of its territory. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act governs U.S. relations with Taiwan, emphasizing the provision of resources for Taiwan’s self-defense and the prevention of any unilateral changes to its status by Beijing. However, the Act does not mandate U.S. military intervention in the event of a Chinese invasion.
When questioned about whether he would deploy U.S. forces to defend Taiwan if attacked, Trump remained noncommittal, adhering to the U.S. policy of ‘strategic ambiguity.’ This policy, maintained by both Republican and Democratic administrations, avoids clear indications of whether the U.S. would intervene militarily in such a scenario. ‘You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,’ Trump remarked regarding Xi.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has yet to comment on Trump’s statements, and the White House has not provided additional details on when Xi or Chinese officials communicated this assurance to Trump. The ’60 Minutes’ interview, recorded at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, is part of a broader segment scheduled to air later Sunday.