Rubio reveals nonnegotiable for Trump-Xi talks

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “walking away from Taiwan” is not on the agenda for this week’s talks in South Korea between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Newsweek reached out to the White House and to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve unification—a goal Xi has called a “historical inevitability.”

The United States acknowledges China’s claim without explicitly supporting it and has provided Taiwan with military and diplomatic support while avoiding provocation toward Beijing. Washington has also maintained a decades-old policy of “strategic ambiguity,” aiming to leave it unclear whether it would come to Taipei’s defense.

Some recent actions by the Trump administration, such as blocking a military aid package, have been interpreted by U.S. analysts as a sign the president is willing to walk back support for the island democracy if it secures better terms on a trade deal with Beijing.

What To Know

Rubio dismissed these concerns Sunday while en route from the Middle East to join Trump for his Asia tour.

“I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement thanking Rubio for “again publicly emphasizing [the U.S.’s] firm stance on Taiwan.” It noted that since the start of Trump’s second term in January, the U.S. has reaffirmed its support by signing onto joint statements with Japan, South Korea, and the G7 that opposed destabilizing moves by China in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan will be among the topics discussed with Xi, Trump told reporters before departing for Malaysia, the first leg of his ongoing trip. He also stated that he has “a lot of respect for Taiwan.”

Trump faced criticism from pro-Taiwan opinion leaders after blocking $400 million in military aid to Taiwan this summer, and for reportedly denying Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te transit in New York during a planned tour of Latin American allies. International stopovers by sitting and former heads of state of Taiwan routinely draw strong protests from China.

What People Are Saying

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a press briefing on Monday: “China and the United States have maintained close communication on the meeting between the two heads of state. If there is further information, China will release it in a timely manner.”

Ryan Fedasiuk, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, wrote in an October 3 analysis on his newsletter, “Choosing Victory”: “The second Trump administration has assembled the most hawkish team of China advisors in American history, led by a president whose deal-making instincts and personal rapport with Xi Jinping often put him at odds with their counsel.

“This tension has produced nine months of policy whiplash—tariffs escalating to 145 percent then plummeting to 30 percent, AI chip bans reversed for revenue-sharing arrangements, $400 million in Taiwan military aid blocked to smooth trade negotiations.”

What Happens Next

Trump and Xi are expected to meet on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Seoul.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS on Sunday that the two sides have agreed to a framework for the talks. The official said he expects China to postpone its newly announced controls on rare earths and that he does not anticipate the 100 percent tariff threatened by Trump earlier this month will take effect.