Trump’s Taiwan ‘negotiating chip’ remark sparks alarm over how far he'd shift US-China policy
President Donald Trump suggested Friday that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could factor into broader negotiations with China, drawing a swift response from Taiwan’s president and reigniting debate in Washington...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump suggested Friday that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could factor into broader negotiations with China, drawing a swift response from Taiwan’s president and reigniting debate in Washington about the future of longstanding U.S. policy toward the island. Asked by Fox News whether he would move forward with a delayed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, Trump replied: "I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons." Taiwan President Lai Ching-te pushed back hours later, calling U.S. arms sales "the most vital deterrent" to regional conflict and insisting Taiwan "shall never be sacrificed or traded away." Trump’s comments came as the administration continues to hold up a $14 billion Taiwan weapons package first approved in principle in late 2025, fueling growing debate in Washington over whether Trump is steering U.S. policy back toward a more traditional form of "strategic ambiguity" — or recasting support for Taiwan through a more openly transactional lens tied to broader negotiations with Beijing. CHINA PROMISES 'COUNTERMEASURES' TO US ARMS SALE TO TAIWAN The White House could not immediately be reached for comment. Ahead of Trump’s recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, bipartisan lawmakers warned in a letter that "American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation." The Taiwan issue already had emerged as one of the most sensitive flashpoints surrounding Trump’s mid-May summit with Xi in Beijing. Following the meeting, China’s foreign ministry said Xi warned Trump that Taiwan remained the "most important issue" in U.S.–China relations and cautioned that mishandling it could lead to "clashes and even conflicts" between the two powers. The White House later downplayed the exchange, with a senior administration official telling Fox News Digital both sides had simply reiterated their longstanding positions on Taiwan. For decades, U.S. policy toward Taiwa…