US President Donald Trump described Taiwan as a “difficult” issue for Washington, stressing the geographic distance between the United States and the self-governing island while signalling caution over direct military involvement.
Trump also criticised previous US administrations for allowing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to rise at America’s expense. “If you look at the history, Taiwan was developed because we had presidents that didn’t know what the hell they were doing. They stole our chip industry,” he said.
The comments came after Trump concluded a high-profile visit to China focused on Taiwan, trade relations and tensions involving Iran. Returning to the US on Friday evening, Trump described his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a historic moment between “two great countries”.
In an interview following the summit, Trump called the relationship between Washington and Beijing the “G-2” and said the meeting could become “a very important moment in history”.
Although Trump avoided publicly discussing Taiwan during the visit, he later revealed that Xi had raised the matter extensively in private talks. According to Trump, Xi warned against any push for Taiwanese independence, describing it as a path toward “a very strong confrontation”.
Trump suggested China was unlikely to launch military action against Taiwan while he remained in office. “I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here, I think they might,” he said.
However, he stopped short of promising US military intervention in the event of a Chinese attack, maintaining Washington’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity. Trump also said he had not yet decided whether to proceed with a previously approved US arms package for Taipei after hearing Xi’s objections.
Trump Says Iran ‘Cannot Have a Nuclear Weapon’
On Iran, Trump claimed negotiations over a nuclear agreement had come close to success before eventually collapsing.
“We really had the confines of a deal; no nuclear, they were going to give us the dust,” Trump said, adding that discussions repeatedly broke down despite apparent progress.
“They’re crazy, and because of that, they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Trump also claimed Xi agreed that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious threat and said the Chinese leader had shown interest in helping resolve the conflict, though China has not publicly confirmed those discussions.
Trade remained another major focus of the visit. Trump said China could initially purchase 200 Boeing aircraft, with the possibility of additional orders in the future, although no formal agreement was announced.
Throughout the trip, Trump repeatedly praised Xi, calling him a “great leader” and expressing confidence that the US and China would have a “fantastic future together”. Chinese officials, meanwhile, described the summit as the start of a new phase of “strategic stability” between Beijing and Washington.
