US Ambassador to China: Trump Stated to Xi That US Policy on Taiwan Remains Unchanged

(CNA, New York, 18th) The US Ambassador to China, David Perdue, stated in an interview on the CNBC financial channel today that President Trump has made it clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping that during his term, the United States' policy on Taiwan will not change, and that it fully supports the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances. He emphasized that this is a major issue for the Chinese side, and Trump held his ground. US Ambassador to China David Perdue was interviewed by host Joe Kernen on the financial channel CNBC. Kernen asked, 'In an interview, Donald Trump mentioned using arms sales to Taiwan as a bargaining chip, which sounded like he had given up on Taiwan or was changing US policy for a trade deal. Do you know the actual situation?' Perdue responded, 'I know what happened, and President Trump was very clear.' He said that later, on the plane, when reporters surrounded Trump, the questions asked were different. Perdue said, 'I was there (at the Trump-Xi meeting), and Trump clearly stated to Chinese President Xi Jinping that we will not change our US policy on Taiwan, we fully support the Taiwan Relations Act, the three (US-China) joint communiqués, and the Six Assurances (to Taiwan); we do not support (Taiwan's) independence, but we also do not want to see coercion between the two sides of the strait, we want to see a peaceful resolution. What we want, and what China wants, is peace and stability.' 'This is an important issue for China, and President Trump held his position.' Perdue said that on the issue of arms sales, the weapons he approved for sale to Taiwan in his first term and this term are 50% more than any US president has approved since 1979. He said that Trump has maintained the US policy on Taiwan of the past 40-plus years. Kernen pressed, 'You said we don't support Taiwan's independence, is that our policy?' Perdue replied that both the Taiwan Relations Act and the three US-China joint communiqués state that the US does not support Taiwan's independence. Kernen seemed a bit confused, apparently just realizing what 'strategic ambiguity' means. He said that the US neither supports Taiwan's independence nor wants China to use military force or coercion to change Taiwan's independent status. He asked Perdue, 'Do you see how ambiguous that is?' Perdue said, 'I don't think that's ambiguous. I know it's been called strategic ambiguity for decades. To me, it's very clear. We don't take sides, we want the people of Taiwan and China to decide the future. We just don't want to see coercive methods, we don't want the outcome to be military action.' He said, 'Trump has been very clear that his policy and the US policy have not changed. He has reinforced the clarity of this position. He also listened to Xi Jinping's side, which I think was very constructive. He let Xi Jinping explain the Chinese perspective in detail.' (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150519