David Sacks
@DavidMSacks1
Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations. Taiwan, cross-Strait relations, U.S.-China, Chinese FP. Opinions my own; RTs/follows not endorsements.
393 Following 2.7K Followers
Still time to sign up for tomorrow morning's @AsiaPolicy webinar on takeaways on Taiwan from the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, with @DavidMSacks1, Shao Yuqun and Chung-min Tsai. A lot to talk about!
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Good to see pushback from Congress. One minor but important point. This is not “aid.” Taiwan pays in full for these weapons and is one of the largest purchasers of American defense hardware in the world.
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“The U.S. has provided defensive arms to Taiwan on a bipartisan basis for over forty years. That aid is not a bargaining chip — it is required by law and essential to preserving peace and deterring China.” -@SenatorShaheen
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This part of the interview clearly shows Trump bought Xi’s framing on Taiwan:
“But they have somebody there now that wants to go independent…they're going independent because they want to get into a war and they want to, they figure they have the United States behind them.”
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Trump seems to have bought Xi’s framing that Taiwan is to blame for cross-Strait tensions and that US arms sales are destabilizing and embolden Taiwan. But there is no risk of Taiwan pursuing independence and China’s coercion of Taiwan is the root issue. Deeply problematic.
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Trump seems to have bought Xi’s framing that Taiwan is to blame for cross-Strait tensions and that US arms sales are destabilizing and embolden Taiwan. But there is no risk of Taiwan pursuing independence and China’s coercion of Taiwan is the root issue. Deeply problematic.
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WATCH: President Trump tells @BretBaier that he is signaling a “neutral” stance on Taiwan security following high-stakes meetings with President Xi, emphasizing his desire to avoid military conflict.
The President confirmed that U.S. policy remains unchanged but expressed hesitation regarding billions of dollars in pending weapons approvals for the island.
"I haven't approved it yet. We're going to see what happens. I may do it. I may not do it... We're not looking to have wars."
Watch the full interview at 6 p.m. ET on @SpecialReport
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Trump saying “I want them [Taiwan] to cool down” would indicate that Xi’s appeal on Taiwan had some effect on him.
Regarding US policy on Taiwan, Trump tells @BretBaier: “Nothing's changed. I will say this. I'm not looking to have somebody go independent. And, you know, we're supposed to travel 9500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.”
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President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are slated to meet in Beijing on May 14–15, marking the first state visit to China from a U.S. president since 2017, when Trump was first in office.
Looming over the upcoming summit are geopolitical tensions—particularly trade—Taiwan, the Iran war, and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, the global economy continues to feel the effects of soaring oil and gas prices from the Strait of Hormuz blockade and the simmering trade war between the United States and China.
@rushdoshi, @ProfDavidHart, @DavidMSacks1, @ChrisRMcGuire, and @heidirediker analyze what to expect:
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Almost one week away from @AsiaPolicy's live webinar, "Taiwan Affairs After the Summit: Where Do Cross-Strait Relations Go From Here," featuring @DavidMSacks1 Chung-min Tsai, and Yuqun Shao.
Tuesday, May 19 from 9-10am US EST. Sign up below!
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Xi Jinping likely sees a window of opportunity to secure changes to U.S. policy toward Taiwan during Trump’s visit to Beijing. Trump should stand firm, closing this perceived window:
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While the bill does not fund key programs to build out Taiwan’s indigenous defense industry, its passage is good news. Some more thoughts here:
Pleased to moderate an excellent webinar on "Taiwan Affairs After the Summit: Where Do Cross-Strait Relations Go from Here," featuring @DavidMSacks1, Chung-min Tsai (Professor of Political Science at National Chengchi University), and Yuqun Shao (Director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies). May 19 from 9-10am US EST.
There will be a lot to discuss on the heels of the Trump-Xi summit, and implications for Taiwan and cross-Straits relations. Please sign up and ask us some questions!
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"Taiwan has made impressive strides in enhancing its resilience to Chinese military and economic coercion, but an increasingly polarized political environment threatens to stall and even reverse such progress," writes @DavidMSacks1.
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