President Donald Trump has warned against any formal move by Taiwan to declare independence, following high-level talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing.
Speaking after the trip on Friday, Trump said he was not interested in seeing tensions escalate between China and Taiwan, stressing that Washington was not looking for war in the region.
“I’m not looking to have somebody go independent,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News. “We’re not looking to have wars. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”
His comments came after Xi reportedly warned that any mishandling of the Taiwan issue could push relations between both countries into conflict.
Taiwan remains one of the most sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations. Beijing considers the self-governed island part of its territory and has repeatedly vowed to bring it under Chinese control if necessary.
Although the United States officially recognises Beijing and not Taipei diplomatically, Washington remains Taiwan’s biggest international supporter and is legally required to provide the island with defensive weapons.
Trump’s remarks appeared to go further than previous U.S. statements by openly questioning why America should risk military conflict over Taiwan.
“We’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” he said.
Despite the comments, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later insisted that American policy toward Taiwan had not changed.
Taiwan’s government also responded cautiously, thanking the United States for continuing to support peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Trump’s trip to Beijing was marked by warm public exchanges with Xi, including promises of closer trade cooperation and invitations for future visits, but major disagreements over Taiwan, Iran and global trade remain unresolved.
The U.S. president claimed the two countries had reached “fantastic” trade agreements, though few details were made public before he departed China.
