WASHINGTON — Some of President Donald Trump’s aides have advised him against shifting the U.S. position on independence for Taiwan to favor China, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions, ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
The aides have privately expressed concern that Trump, who is pushing to reach a sweeping trade deal with China, may choose to ignore their advice, the people with knowledge of the discussions said. They said they worry that Trump could walk away from long-standing U.S. policy on Taiwan or more subtly shift the U.S. position by framing it with new language.
“Everyone is holding their breath,” one of the people with knowledge of the discussions said.
Administration officials have told Trump to expect Xi to seek a public declaration from him that the United States “opposes” Taiwan’s independence, the people with knowledge of the discussions said. Xi has for months pushed for a shift in the U.S. position on Taiwan from the current one, which is that the United States does “not support” its independence, to saying the United States “opposes” it.
While many Americans might see that as a different way of saying the same thing, were Trump to say the United States opposes Taiwan’s independence or even that independence is not a good idea at this time, it would send shock waves across Asia and be seen as a huge gift to Xi.
Openly expressing opposition to Taiwan’s independence would be seen as moving the United States from a neutral position on the issue to clearly standing on the side of China. For decades, U.S. administrations have adopted a policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, known as the “One China” policy, and presidents have taken the public position of not supporting its independence.
A White House official told NBC News: “President Trump has repeatedly affirmed that his Taiwan policy has not changed. President Trump leads on all foreign policy — he always puts forward deals that put the American people first.”
Asked what the Trump administration’s policy on Taiwan’s independence was, a senior State Department official said, “The policy on Taiwan hasn’t changed one bit.”
“It’s as consistent as it’s been for decades,” the official said Monday.
China sees democratic and self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunited with the mainland by military force if necessary. Taipei rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty and seeks to maintain its de facto independence even if it is not formally recognized by most countries.
“The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said by email when he was asked for comment.
“There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is a consensus of the international community and a political commitment made by the U.S. to China,” Liu said.
Taiwanese officials are also uneasy about the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting and have expressed their own concerns to State Department officials that Trump could abandon Taiwan to secure a win from the meeting, one of the people familiar with the discussions said.
Asked by reporters about Taiwan’s apprehension, Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed the concerns aside.
“What people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal where we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio said Saturday en route to Asia for this week’s meetings. “No one is contemplating that.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry took to social media soon after, expressing its appreciation to Rubio for “reaffirming no one is contemplating walking away from Taiwan.”
Abigail Williams, Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Monica Alba reported from Washington and Katherine Doyle from Tokyo.
