China's leader Xi pushes Trump to ‘oppose’ Taiwan independence during U.S. visit - National Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump head to a state dinner in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2026. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesArticle contentChinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the U.S. to outright “oppose” Taiwan independence, marking his first public call for Donald Trump to change Washington’s decades-old stance on the self-ruled island.
During their inaugural White House summit on Thursday, Xi urged the U.S. leader to “adhere to the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Washington has long maintained it “doesn’t support” the independence of Taiwan, the island Beijing claims as its own.
Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has made bringing Taiwan under China’s control a key goal and vowed to achieve it someday, by force if necessary. As the Chinese leader heads toward an expected fourth term in office, he’s ramping up diplomatic pressure to isolate the democratic chip hub and block future weapons sales from Washington.
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The U.S. still hasn’t released a readout from the meeting, which lasted less than two hours, meaning it isn’t clear how Trump responded to Xi’s request. China privately asked the Trump administration to declare it “opposes” Taiwan independence back in 2025, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“While this may appear a semantic shift, the impact would be meaningful,” said Bloomberg Economics’ Jennifer Welch, who served as director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council under the previous Biden and Trump administrations.
China would use any switch in language from Trump to undermine Taiwan’s confidence in U.S. support, she added. “Opposing Taiwan independence implies an active effort to contain what Beijing sees as pro-independence forces,” Welch said.
Trump has already delayed a planned US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan for months. After his last meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump described that deal as “a very good negotiating chip” for the U.S. — remarks that rattled Taipei. Any change in wording would fan concerns that Washington’s position on the democracy of 23 million people is becoming a bargaining chip in U.S.-China ties.
