Trump and Xi to Discuss US Plans to Sell Weapons to Taiwan

Tokyo (ANTARA) - United States President Donald Trump has said that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss the sale of weapons to Taiwan when the two leaders meet in Beijing this week. “I will discuss that with President Xi,” Trump said at an event in the White House on Monday (11/5). Trump made the statement in response to a question about whether the United States should sell weapons to Taiwan, the self-governing island. He added that in reality, Xi Jinping does not want the US to sell weapons to Taiwan. “President Xi wants us not to do it, and I will discuss that. The issue is one of many things I will talk about with Xi,” Trump said. Meanwhile, recent statements from Chinese officials indicate that Xi Jinping will urge Donald Trump to stop arms sales to Taiwan, a democratically governed territory that China claims as part of its own. A senior US official previously stated that US policy towards Taiwan remains unchanged and predicted no changes in the future. In December, the United States approved the potential sale of weapons and major defence equipment systems worth more than $11 billion (approximately Rp191.9 trillion) to Taiwan. The move provoked a strong reaction from China, which has not ruled out the use of military force to bring Taiwan under its control.