China doesn’t want to invade Taiwan, Trump reaffirms trust in Xi

President Donald Trump said Xi Jinping understands the consequences if China invades Taiwan, while refusing to specifically say the United States would defend the island, according to an extract of a CBS News interview broadcast Sunday. Trump said Taiwan "never even came up as a subject" when he met the Chinese president in South Korea on Thursday for their first face-to-face meeting in six years. Asked on CBS's "60 Minutes" whether he would order US forces into action if China moved militarily on Taiwan, Trump said: "You'll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that." But Trump declined to spell out what he meant in the interview conducted Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, adding: "I can't give away my secrets. The other side knows." The US president claimed that Xi and those close to him had "openly said" that "'we would never do anything while President Trump is president,' because they know the consequences." China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory. Under longstanding policy, the United States recognises only Beijing but provides weapons for the island's self-defence.

Trump says Chinese President Xi would never invade Taiwan while he is in office because "they know the consequences" - 60 Minutes | CBS pic.twitter.com/eMa4Ua04o4

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Under US law, the United States is required to provide Taiwan weapons for its self-defense but Washington has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would use force to defend Taiwan. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden repeatedly suggested he would order the US military to intervene if China moved on Taiwan.