Taiwan gently pushes back on Trump’s warnings after China summit

TaiwanTaiwan gently pushes back on Trump’s warnings after China summitTrump raised doubts about arms sales to Taiwan and whether the U.S. would defend the island, rattling a sensitive relationship amid threats from Beijing.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleTaiwan ramps up drone production amid threat of potential China invasion04:07Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 17, 2026, 10:31 AM EDT / Updated May 17, 2026, 10:32 AM EDTBy Freddie ClaytonOnly the Taiwanese people can decide their future, Taiwan’s president said ‌Sunday, after President Donald Trump appeared to raise doubts about long-standing U.S. policy on his trip to China.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Trump said he had not yet decided whether to proceed with arms sales to Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that Beijing has vowed to control by force if necessary, after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.Trump also said Friday he was “not looking to have somebody go independent” when asked about whether the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s rescue in the event of a Chinese invasion. “We’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that,” he told Fox News, adding that he wants both sides to “cool down.”Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said ‌Sunday that the term “Taiwan independence” means the island neither belongs to nor is subordinate to ​Beijing, adding that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.Speaking at an event to mark the ​40th anniversary of his party’s founding, Lai did not refer directly to Trump in his speech ⁠or answer ​questions shouted at him by reporters.Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China,” its foreign ministry said Saturday in a statement.During Trump’s visit to Beijing, Xi called Taiwan “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” accordi...