What Xi asked for, and what no joint text contains
On Thursday Xi told Trump he hoped the United States would hold what Beijing calls the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence. The 3-day summit ended on Friday with no public breakthrough on Taiwan. Trump has made no comment since the Washington meeting on the package he placed in abeyance in May.[1]
On Saturday in Taipei, Francois Wu counted military sales, Taiwan's capacity to defend itself and a semiconductor industry that keeps contributing to the world as important US interests. He said Taipei has stayed in continuous communication with Washington, that obtaining guarantees is best, and that Taipei can prepare, communicate and make requests. He tied that attention to further meetings at APEC and the G20.[1]
The pending $14 billion
The December sale is $11 billion. A second package of some $14 billion is still pending. David Perdue told CNBC on Friday that Trump's Taiwan policy is unchanged, including the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which mandates arms sales. He said Washington seeks peace across the strait, rejects coercion and does not support independence.[1]
On Saturday the People's Daily wrote that Taiwan is the core of China's core interests and the first unbreakable red line in China-US relations. That sentence belongs to Beijing's newspaper. A joint commitment is a separate text. The public exchange leaves the pending package where it stood before the leaders met.[1]