According to a report by the UK's Financial Times on February 7, the United States is compiling a weapons sale package to Taiwan that includes a large number of "Patriot" missiles and other weapons. China has privately warned that this may jeopardize President Trump's state visit to China in April. According to eight sources, after last December's record $11.1 billion arms sales plan to Taiwan, the Trump administration is preparing a set of four systems for Taiwan to purchase. According to several informed sources, the Trump administration had originally planned to inform the U.S. Congress about this arms sales package this month. However, some experts believe that Trump will wait until after his visit to China to take action. According to multiple informed sources, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng has issued warnings to the Trump administration regarding this potential arms sale. The Chinese embassy in the United States has not commented on this.
Comments: While the Trump administration is sending positive signals about visiting China and economic and trade cooperation, it is also rapidly advancing a record-scale arms sale to Taiwan, including advanced air defense systems like the Patriot. It aims to use the Taiwan issue to force China to make concessions in areas such as trade and tariffs, treating China's core sovereignty as a bargaining chip. The arms sale to Taiwan seriously violates the One-China Principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the United States, directly touching China's core interests and the bottom line of national sentiment. China's linkage of the arms sale with the state visit is not a threat, but a clear statement that sovereignty issues cannot be traded and that any act undermining the foundation will have consequences. No country, no leader, can expect to "have it both ways" on the Taiwan issue. The atmosphere of the visit and bilateral trust must be based on the U.S. fulfilling its commitments and ceasing to undermine China's sovereignty.
There are voices within the U.S. advocating for "announcing after the visit," which is not abandoning the arms sale, but calculating political costs: neither wanting to completely anger China and destroy trade and visit achievements, nor wanting to alienate the military-industrial complex and anti-China voting blocs, trying to use "delaying" to please both sides. China's position has always been clear: opposing U.S.-Taiwan military collusion, opposing any form of arms sales to Taiwan, and absolutely not allowing "using Taiwan to contain China." The warning is not empty words; if the U.S. persists in pushing forward, China will inevitably take firm countermeasures, and the atmosphere and results of bilateral interactions will be directly affected.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856519753442379/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.