Interest is growing over whether a deal regarding Taiwan arms and Iran sanctions was reached during the US-China summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During the summit held on September 24 at the White House in Washington, DC, the United States is believed to have demanded China's participation in economic sanctions against Iran, while China likely called for a halt to US arms sales to Taiwan.
On September 25, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that President Xi urged the US to maintain its opposition to Taiwan independence and to handle Taiwan-related issues with caution. The report only confirmed that the two leaders discussed the Iran issue, without providing specific details of their discussions.
Prior to the summit, multiple sources indicated that China was demanding the US suspend the delivery of arms that Taiwan has already ordered. China views Taiwan as the sole source of instability in US-China relations and insists that the US must stop supplying arms to Taiwan.
Notably, President Trump has previously used arms sales to Taiwan as a bargaining chip. After a summit with President Xi in Beijing in May, Trump described a $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that he had put on hold as a "very good negotiating card."
Last December, the US approved approximately $11 billion in arms sales to Taiwan. The $14 billion package remains unapproved.
The Iran issue also presents a variable that could indicate new possibilities for US-China negotiations. The US believes that China can exert significant influence over Iran. As the largest buyer of Iranian oil, China is seen by Washington as a key player in applying economic pressure on Iran. Reuters has assessed that China could supply billions of dollars' worth of goods to Iran while circumventing sanctions.
However, no agreement has been confirmed regarding a swap between arms sales to Taiwan and pressure on Iran. Instead, Reuters reported immediately after the summit that no clear breakthroughs were achieved on trade, AI, Taiwan, or Iran issues.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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