Arming Taiwan Serves US Interests, Senior Taipei Diplomat Says

A senior Taiwanese diplomat has said continued US arms sales to Taiwan are in Washington’s national interest, days after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a three-day summit in Washington.

Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu said on Saturday that helping Taiwan maintain its ability to defend itself and allowing its semiconductor industry to continue supplying the global economy were both important US interests.

Wu was speaking after the Trump-Xi summit, during which Taiwan remained one of the sensitive issues in US-China relations. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China and has repeatedly called on Washington to stop supplying weapons to the island, while Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

“The US providing weapons to Taiwan to protect its freedom and provide semiconductors to the world is in the US national interest,” Wu said, according to Reuters.

He questioned whether making concessions over Taiwan would serve US interests, pointing to the island’s role in the global semiconductor industry and its security relationship with Washington. Taiwan is a major producer of advanced semiconductors used in technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to consumer electronics.

The comments came after Xi pressed Trump during their summit to oppose Taiwan independence and handle the Taiwan issue with what Beijing described as caution. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Beijing’s characterization of the issue represented its own position and reiterated that Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people.

Ahead of the summit, Chinese officials had warned Washington against further arms sales to Taiwan. China’s Defence Ministry called for “extreme caution” over such sales, while Reuters reported that Xi was expected to push Trump to halt them.

The Trump administration has already approved major arms sales to Taiwan during 2026, including an earlier package worth about $11 billion. Another proposed package worth approximately $14 billion has remained delayed.

On Friday, Trump said he had not yet decided whether to proceed with the larger proposed package. The White House also did not publicly confirm whether specific arms sales were discussed during his meeting with Xi.

Taiwan’s position is that US arms sales are part of Washington’s commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and contribute to the island’s ability to defend itself. Beijing opposes the sales and argues that they interfere in what it considers China’s internal affairs.

The disagreement highlights one of the most difficult issues in the US-China relationship. While Trump and Xi sought to maintain dialogue and stability during their latest summit, Taiwan remains a major point of contention between Washington and Beijing.