China has warned the United States that it may cancel a planned summit between the two countries’ leaders if Washington approves a new arms sale to Taiwan.
This is reported by Kyodo, citing sources.
The leaders’ in-person meeting between China’s leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump is expected to take place at the White House on 24 September.
Ahead of the summit, Beijing again stated that the Taiwan issue is a “red line” in relations between China and the United States.
In December last year, the Trump administration announced an $11bn arms sales package for Taiwan. Beijing reacted sharply at the time, saying the self-governing island is part of China’s territory.
In May, the United States said it had suspended a separate $14bn arms deal for Taiwan.
According to Kyodo’s sources, the Chinese government is threatening to cancel the September summit if Washington approves any new agreement to supply arms to Taiwan. For Trump, this could be a political blow ahead of the US midterm elections.
At the same time, China is stepping up military activity in the area of the Taiwan Strait. Xi Jinping has previously told Trump that Taiwan is the “most important issue” in relations between the two countries, and warned of the risk of conflict if the matter is mishandled.
Trump, for his part, has described a possible arms sale to Taiwan as a “very good bargaining chip” in negotiations with China.
The upcoming summit is also expected to provide an opportunity for Washington and Beijing to discuss artificial intelligence, trade relations and the war with Iran. The sides had previously agreed to a trade truce and spoken of moving towards “constructive strategic stability”.
Under the US Taiwan Relations Act, Washington supplies the island with weapons to support its defensive capabilities.
Meanwhile, scepticism is growing in Taipei about the reliability of US support under a second Trump administration.