Trump, Xi likely to discuss Taiwan next week, US says

Taiwan is likely to be a topic of conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet next week, said Secretary of ⁠State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (May 5).

Rubio told a White House press briefing that the United States doesn’t need any destabilizing events to occur with regard to Taiwan.

"I'm sure Taiwan will be a topic of conversation; it always is,” Rubio said. “I think both countries understand that it is in neither one of our interests to see anything destabilizing happen in that part of the world. We don't need any destabilizing events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo Pacific."

Trump is set to visit Beijing on May 14 and 15.

Taiwan is facing rising military pressure from Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, to the constant ​anger of Beijing.

Rubio also told reporters that he hopes China tells Iran what it is doing in the Strait of Hormuz is causing Tehran to be globally isolated.

-Gerardo Gomez/Reuters