U.S. President Donald Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him Beijing would not take any action toward its long-stated goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China while Trump remains in office.
Speaking in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes”, Trump said that although the issue of Taiwan did not directly come up during his recent meeting with Xi in South Korea, he was confident China would not make any move against the self-ruled island during his presidency.
“He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in an excerpt of the interview aired Sunday.
The talks between Trump and Xi primarily focused on U.S.–China trade tensions, though Trump’s comments added new significance to the broader question of stability across the Taiwan Strait.
For decades, Washington has adhered to a policy of strategic ambiguity — deliberately leaving unclear whether it would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is not obligated to intervene militarily but is committed to providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
When asked whether he would order U.S. forces to defend Taiwan if China launched an attack, Trump declined to specify.
“You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” Trump said, referring to Xi.
Neither the Chinese Embassy in Washington nor the White House provided immediate comment regarding when Xi or Chinese officials may have conveyed to Trump that military action against Taiwan was off the table.
The “60 Minutes” interview was recorded on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It marked his first appearance on the program since he resolved a lawsuit with CBS News earlier this year over its coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris.