Why it matters:
The U.S.-China dispute over Taiwan is a strategic one. The U.S. considers Taiwan its main ally, while Beijing considers it as its own territory, and part of its mainland. Because China is a major economic power, the U.S. has tried in recent years to avoid escalating tensions in the region.
The big picture:
The Trump administration has delayed announcing a package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at billions of dollars to avoid upsetting Xi Jinping, China’s leader, ahead of President Trump’s planned trip to Beijing in April, U.S. officials said.
The fact that the Trump administration has halted the package at an advanced stage of the process, after informal approval from Congress, has not been previously reported.
U.S. arms support for Taiwan has strong bipartisan support in Congress, and the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act obligates administrations to sell weapons of a defensive nature to the island. Lawmakers often quickly give approval to such packages.
The weapons sale, which includes air-defense missiles, is in an advanced stage. Senior Republican and Democratic lawmakers approved the package after the State Department sent it to them in January for informal review.
The topic of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan came up in a Feb. 4 call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi, according to a summary of the conversation from Chinese state news organizations.
What they're saying:
However, since then, the sales package has languished in the State Department, the officials said. Administration officials have told some involved in the approval of the sale that the White House ordered agencies not to move forward to ensure that Mr. Trump has a successful summit with Mr. Xi, one official said.
Another official said the package has a total value of about $13 billion, compared with the $11 billion sale that the Trump administration announced in December. The U.S. officials spoke to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic and security matters.
The State Department said it does not comment on pending arms sales. “This administration has been very clear that the enduring U.S. commitment to Taiwan continues, as it has for over four decades,” it said in a statement.
The White House referred questions to the State Department.
“The U.S. must handle arms sales to Taiwan with extreme caution,” Mr. Xi told Mr. Trump, according to the summary. Mr. Xi also warned Mr. Trump that the U.S. position on Taiwan was “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations” and that China “will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China.”
In a social media post that day, Trump listed the issue of Taiwan among more than a half-dozen topics, and said the call was “all very positive.” The two leaders have been planning to meet in Beijing this spring, which would be the first time since they talked in person last October in Busan, South Korea. They agreed in Busan to a yearlong truce in a trade war that Mr. Trump had started.
On Feb. 16, Mr. Trump told reporters that he was considering what to do about arms sales to Taiwan, given that Mr. Xi opposes them.
“I’m talking to him about it,” he said aboard Air Force One.
Go deeper:
China Warns U.S. to “Stop Playing With Fire” Over Taiwan
Hossein Amiri - Mojtaba Darabi
