U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping assured him that Beijing would not move against Taiwan while he remains in office.
Speaking in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Trump said Xi’s government had made clear that “nothing would happen while President Trump is president,” warning that China “knows the consequences” of any provocation.
The statement followed Trump’s meeting with Xi in South Korea on Thursday, where discussions reportedly centred on U.S.-China trade tensions rather than Taiwan.
Washington has long been wary of Beijing’s ambitions to unify Taiwan with the mainland, fearing the possibility of a military confrontation. The self-ruled island remains a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations, governed under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which obliges the United States to help Taipei defend itself but stops short of a military guarantee.
When asked whether he would send U.S. troops if China attacked Taiwan, Trump declined to answer directly. “You’ll find out if it happens,” he said, suggesting Xi “understands the answer.”
Successive U.S. administrations have adhered to a policy of “strategic ambiguity,” deliberately avoiding any firm commitment to defending Taiwan to deter both Chinese aggression and a unilateral declaration of independence by Taipei.
Neither the Chinese embassy in Washington nor the White House offered immediate comment on Trump’s remarks or when Xi allegedly conveyed the assurance.
The interview, filmed Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, marked his first appearance on 60 Minutes since settling a lawsuit with CBS News earlier this year.
Further excerpts from the interview are expected to air later Sunday.