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Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday reaffirmed long-standing U.S. support for Taiwan, emphasizing that the island would not be abandoned during trade negotiations with China.
Conversation with journalists while traveling between Israel and Qatar on the way to the president Donald Trump In Asia, Rubio said Taiwan should not worry about trade talks.
“I don't think you're going to see any kind of trade agreement if people are worried about us getting some kind of trade agreement or getting favorable trade treatment in exchange for leaving Taiwan,” Rubio said. “Nobody thinks about it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated long-standing U.S. support for Taiwan. (Fadel Senna/Pool via Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has renewed efforts to push the US to change the one-China policy, which recognizes Taiwan as part of China while preserving relations with the island.
Beijing asked the Trump administration to formally adopt the language, saying it was “against” Taiwan independenceThe change would be a key diplomatic victory for China, as Washington's current position is that it “does not support” independence.
Taiwan is an important issue in China's relations with the US as relations on other issues such as trade, technology transfer and human rights are tense.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Taiwan should not worry about trade negotiations. (Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo)
The US is Taiwan's largest military backer, but Trump has floated the idea that the island would have to pay for security.
Trump declined to answer when asked about U.S. policy toward Taiwan as he headed to Asia on Air Force One.
“I don't want to talk about it now. I don't want to create any complications. The trip is hard enough as it is,” Trump told reporters.
Beijing has asked the Trump administration to formally adopt language that it “opposes” Taiwanese independence. (Lintao Zhang/getty images)
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The US president plans to meet Xi Jinping next week while attending a regional summit in South Korea, the first meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Trump's trip to Asia will include stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
Reuters contributed to this report.
