BEIJING: China renewed its opposition to U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan on Wednesday, urging Washington to uphold longstanding commitments ahead of the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Taiwan is expected to be a major topic during the two-day talks. Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory, while the United States continues to supply Taipei with defensive military equipment despite having no formal diplomatic ties.
Last December, the Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan the largest deal of its kind so far. In response, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticized Washington’s growing military cooperation with Taipei.
Spokesperson Zhang Han stated that Taiwan remains a purely internal matter for China and stressed that Beijing firmly opposes all military links and arms sales between the United States and Taiwan. She described the issue as central to China’s national interests and urged the U.S. to respect commitments made under the “One China” framework.
Under the U.S. “One China” policy, Washington acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China but does not officially recognize Chinese sovereignty over the island.
The tensions come shortly after Taiwan’s parliament approved only part of a proposed $40 billion defence budget requested by President Lai Ching-te. While funding for U.S. weapons purchases remained intact, several domestic defence projects including drone programmes — were reduced.
American officials reportedly expressed concern that Taiwan’s defence spending fell short of expectations. According to a senior Taiwanese security official, Beijing may attempt to use the reduced budget to convince Trump to scale back U.S. military support for Taiwan.
Reports earlier this year suggested a second U.S. arms package worth around $14 billion could be considered after Trump’s China visit, though its current status remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Lai reiterated at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit that Taiwan is a sovereign and democratic nation that would not surrender to outside pressure. China rejected those remarks, repeating its stance that Taiwan has never been and will never become an independent country.
Beijing also reaffirmed that while it prefers “peaceful reunification,” it has not ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
The post China warns US over Taiwan arms sales ahead of Trump-Xi summit appeared first on Karachi News.