Taiwanese Remain Calm Despite Trump's ‘Unnecessary' Comments

U.S. President Donald Trump's high-profile summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping-including remarks describing Taiwan arms sales as a "negotiating chip"-has renewed questions over his commitment to the island, though officials in Taiwan say they remain confident that longstanding American support will continue

The two leaders “talked a whole night" about Taiwan, the self-ruled island and chipmaking powerhouse Beijing considers the most important issue in its relationship with the United States, Trump said during an interview with Fox News Saturday.

For the first time, Trump leveled a public criticism at Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, accusing him of seeking independence, fueling tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and risking dragging the U.S. into conflict with China.

"Taiwanese people understand this is not the first time Trump has spoken in this way. He is probably speaking to a domestic audience and trying to project a tough stance," Domingo Yang, an assistant research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research and an adjunct assistant professor at National Chengchi University, told Newsweek.

Since Trump took office for his second term last year, Taiwan watchers in Washington, D.C., and Democratic leaders have questioned Trump’s commitment to the longstanding U.S. Taiwan policy, over his unfounded claim that the island "stole" the U.S. semiconductor industry and the administration’s move to block Lai from transiting through New York en route to visiting diplomatic allies in Latin America.

China views Taiwan as a rogue province that must eventually be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary, though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled there. While the U.S., like most countries, does not officially recognize Taiwan, it remains the island's top arms supplier and the strongest supporter of global engagement with the democratic island.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

‘Negotiating Chip’

Beijing routinely protests the weapons sales and official interactions with the government in Taipei, considering them violations of China’s sovereignty. As Trump met with Xi on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry warned mishandling of the “Taiwan question” could cause the superpowers to “collide or even clash.”

Trump said he had not yet decided whether to approve a $14 billion arms package Congress cleared in January, telling reporters aboard Air Force One Friday that he first needed to speak with the person "running Taiwan,” referring to Lai.

"I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens. I may do it, I may not do it. I'm holding that in abeyance. It's a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It's a lot of weapons, $12 billion,” he said.

Taipei would welcome direct talks with Trump, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told reporters. “Of course, we would also ask: based on what you have said, does that mean you want to speak with our president? If he says yes, ​then should we make the relevant arrangements? We very much hope to have such an opportunity.”

Six Assurances

Any decision on Taiwan arms sales shaped by consultations with Beijing would mark a departure from the Six Assurances issued to Taiwan in 1982, which included a pledge not to consult China in advance on such sales.

That same year, the administration of President Ronald Reagan also told Beijing the U.S. would "gradually reduce" arms sales to Taiwan, though without setting a timeline and on the condition that China pursued a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue.

Trump also acknowledged the importance China places on Taiwan, saying Beijing does not seek a takeover but simply "doesn't want to see it go independent," while stressing he hoped the status quo in the Taiwan Strait would continue and called on both sides to “cool down.”

At the same time, he pinned some responsibility for cross-strait tensions on the Lai government.

"They have someone there now who wants to go independent,” Trump told Fox News. “And they figure they have the United States behind them."

"I will say this, I'm not looking to have somebody go independent, and we're supposed to travel 9,000 miles to fight a war,” he said.

Trump also repeated his claim that Taiwan stole the U.S. chip industry and said that if Taiwan's chipmakers are “smart,” they’ll expand their investments in building out U.S. capacity.

Taiwan manufactures roughly 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips. In March, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company pledged $165 billion in total capital investment -the largest foreign direct investment announcement in American history.

China has warned that any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan would constitute grounds for war. Lai and former President Tsai Ing-wen, both from the Beijing-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party, have argued Taiwan does not need to declare independence because it is already a sovereign country.

The Trump administration, like its predecessors, has maintained strategic ambiguity over whether U.S. forces would directly defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

The U.S. leader’s latest remarks are not causing panic in Taipei. While the comments have "caused some unnecessary concern in Taipei," Chen said authorities do not believe Washington has altered its Taiwan policy, Reuters reported.

Balancing Act

Yang, the INDSR analyst, said the White House was unlikely to sacrifice arms sales solely in exchange for economic concessions from Beijing, noting Chinese pledges during the first Trump administration had often been carried out in phases, with some never fully realized.

"If the United States were to sacrifice arms sales to Taiwan and weaken deterrence against the PLA along the First Island Chain in exchange for an uncertain and potentially hollow economic deal, it would run counter to U.S. interests," he said.

Instead, Washington could pursue "more tactical approaches," such as delaying announcements of arms packages or staggering deliveries over time.

Taipei broadly views the summit as a meeting between Washington and Beijing to stabilize the world's most consequential bilateral relationship, Yang said, after years of mounting tensions across trade, technology, and security.

"Since both sides face their own domestic challenges, such as Trump's declining approval ratings, China's economic difficulties, and ongoing People's Liberation Army purges, they both have an interest in maintaining a relatively stable framework for great power competition," he said.

"We believe that both the U.S. and China will focus on internal balancing, meaning the strengthening of domestic capabilities in defense, the economy, and technology. This is why both sides need to extend the trade war truce."

Safe embed will be rendered here

U.S. arms sale backlog to Taiwan (March 2026)

Service URL: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Q2uie/1/

Taiwan’s government has framed itself as the stabilizing actor in the region.

Taiwan is "the defender of the status quo of peace and stability in the region," Lai said in a statement Sunday, accusing China of being "the root cause of destroying regional peace and stability."

As examples of what Chinese escalation in recent years, he pointed to the People’s Liberation Army’s increasingly large-scale military drills around Taiwan, near-daily warplane sorties across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and Beijing’s growing "political and economic pressure on neighboring countries."

"We thank President Trump for his continued support for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait since his first term, including the continued increase in the size and amount of arms sales to Taiwan, helping Taiwan strengthen its self-defense capabilities," the statement said.

U.S. officials have also sought to clarify that Washington's Taiwan policy remains unchanged. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told ABC on Sunday that Trump had made no commitments to Xi on Taiwan and is “very focused on making sure that nothing happens [in the Taiwan Strait].”

"The reality is, it's really important for the United States and China to have a stable relationship. These are two important economies," Greer said. "The issue of Taiwan arms sales is something the Chinese always raise. So, the president's considering how to approach that."

Trump could delay approving new Taiwan-bound weapons packages for now, given his invitation to Xi for another round of talks in the United States in September and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen in December, said Adrian Ang U-Jin, a research fellow and coordinator of the United States Program at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

At the same time, Xi must avoid appearing to domestic audiences as making concessions on Taiwan in exchange for better ties with Washington, Ang added.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 7:47 AM.