Chinese leader Xi Jinping is planning to press Trump to formally state that the U.S. “opposes” Taiwan’s independence
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is pressing forward with what he sees as his ultimate goal: reshaping U.S. policy in a way that would isolate Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province. According to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal, Xi sees the current moment—marked by preparations for high-level contact with the Donald Trump administration—as an opportunity to secure a formal U.S. statement that it “opposes” Taiwan independence. President Trump, who has shown interest in striking an economic deal with Beijing in the coming year, is viewed as open to such discussions, the report notes.
Since 2012, when Xi enshrined bringing Taiwan under Beijing’s control as a pillar of his “China Dream,” he has repeatedly declared that “reunification” is inevitable and will not be blocked by outside forces—a pointed reference to Washington’s political and military backing of Taipei. The Journal reports that the current U.S. formulation, which under President Joe Biden has been “not supporting” Taiwanese independence, no longer meets Xi’s demands. He is instead pressing for explicit opposition, which would amount to more than a rhetorical shift: such a declaration would signal alignment with Beijing against Taiwanese sovereignty and move Washington away from its long-held stance of strategic ambiguity, further strengthening Xi’s domestic authority.
A State Department spokesperson, while avoiding Xi’s preferred wording, reiterated: “We have long stated that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side,” and added that “China presents the single greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” Beijing, according to sources, believes the lure of an economic agreement could push President Trump toward a shift in Taiwan policy. As former Obama administration official Evan Medeiros told the Journal, “Driving a wedge between Washington and Taipei is the holy grail of the Taiwan problem for Beijing. Xi likely sees the coming period of interactions with Trump as the best opportunity to try to pull Washington and Taipei apart.” In line with this stance, Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu reiterated that “China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges or military ties” between the U.S. and Taiwan, the Journal reported.
Recent developments have created a new channel for talks: Xi and Trump brokered an agreement to transfer ownership of TikTok to U.S. investors, which has set the stage for a meeting at the upcoming Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea. Meanwhile, uncertainty over Washington’s security commitments has grown as President Trump has remained relatively quiet on the issue of U.S. military involvement in Taiwan, while Xi reportedly assured him that “China wouldn’t invade Taiwan” during his presidency, according to Fox News reporting in August.