U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised him that China will refrain from invading Taiwan for the next four years.
Trump made the remarks during a nearly 30-minute interview with Fox News’s Brett Baier that was filmed on Air Force One and aired while the president was in Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“‘I will never do it as long as you’re president’—President Xi told me that, and I said, ‘Well, I appreciate that,’” Trump said.
The guarantee does not extend to future administrations, the president noted.
“But he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient,’” Trump said. “Say, ‘Well, that’s up to you, but it better not happen now.’”
It remains unclear when Xi made the remarks. The White House did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island territory, is viewed by Beijing as a breakaway province. Its freedom remains a volatile point of contention in U.S.–China relations.
The United States guarantees the provision of defensive arms to Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Xi has vowed to achieve “reunification” with the island by any means necessary, and he has ramped up military exercises in the waters around the island.
Optimism that Trump’s foreign policy agenda will deter China’s aggression has been a recurring theme during the administration’s first 200 days.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin in March that China will stay out of Taiwan.
“I follow President Trump’s lead, and he is confident that President Xi will not make that move during his presidency,” Bessent said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly declared at the Shangri-La Dialogue—an annual summit held in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies—in May that China is signaling a desire to be capable of attacking the island nation by 2027, with a buildup in nuclear weapons and military readiness.
“Every day you see it. China’s military harasses Taiwan,” Hegseth said.
“It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.”
He expressed confidence that the communist regime will wait until the current administration leaves office, but warned of the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to world peace.
“Again, to be clear: Any attempt by communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,” Hegseth said. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real.”
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