Taiwan tops Beijing's agenda for Trump-Xi summit

For 23 million Taiwanese, the most consequential diplomatic meeting of 2026 may be one to which they are not invited.



When U.S. President Donald Trump travels to Beijing next month, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has made clear that Taiwan will sit at the top of his agenda, a stark departure from their South Korea meeting last year, where he deliberately set the issue aside.



Taipei will be watching for any sign that Trump, who has unnerved partners with his transactional approach to alliances, could soften or reframe longstanding U.S. policy on Taiwan in return for China buying U.S. aircraft or farm goods and easing economic pressures.



"Regarding Taiwan, the logic is simple: if the U.S. does not want to fight a major war with China over Taiwan, it should not support Taiwan independence," said Wu Xinbo, dean of Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, who serves on the policy advisory board of China's foreign ministry.



"Trump has no interest in going to war with China. To avoid a major conflict that involves the U.S., he should make it clear that he won't support independence or take actions that encourage a separatist political agenda."