September 29, 2026
The Trump-Xi Summit Leaves Taiwan in Limbo
This article was originally published in Nikkei Asia.
When Washington's de facto ambassador to Taiwan, Raymond Greene, explained the Trump administration's approach to cross-Strait relations earlier this month, he offered a preview of the tension on display when President Donald Trump hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House on September 24.
Xi pressed Washington to move closer to Beijing's position on Taiwan. Trump pursued a steadier relationship with China, but the public accounts of the summit so far show no U.S. agreement to Xi's request. That outcome fits much of the strategy Greene described, while leaving a crucial question unresolved: Will Trump sustain deterrence as he seeks deals with Xi?
Xi used the summit to mark the change Beijing wants. Trump did not publicly grant it. Whether he can keep negotiating with Xi while making Taiwan harder to conquer is now the measure of his cross-Strait policy.
Speaking at the Taipei Security Dialogue ahead of the summit, Greene called for a U.S.-China relationship based on "strategic stability" as well as "fairness and reciprocity" that avoids "misunderstandings and miscalculations." Washington, he said, was "reinforcing its presence and partnerships" throughout the Indo-Pacific region to maintain a "favorable regional balance of power." He also praised Taiwan's investments in self-defense and asymmetric capabilities, arguing that "to deter a conflict, Taiwan doesn't need to demonstrate that it can win a war outright."
Read the full article in Nikkei Asia.
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