Trump to Raise Taiwan and Jimmy Lai Case in Xi Meeting in Beijing
US President Donald Trump intends to raise arms sales to Taiwan and the case of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai when he meets Xi Jinping in Beijing this week, US officials told reporters. The White House signalled the summit could turn contentious. Beijing has so far declined to preview its stance.
White House officials told SCMP that the Beijing summit would extend well beyond economic topics. Trump is expected to take up approval of a new defence package for Taiwan directly with Xi; given Beijing's sharp statements over rising US arms shipments, this strand will be difficult.
The second sensitive item is the detention of Hong Kong media owner Jimmy Lai. Washington keeps up calls for his release while Beijing maintains it will not intervene in Hong Kong's judicial process.
Tariffs and coordination on the Iran war are also on the agenda. An accompanying US business delegation of 17 chief executives hopes for tangible progress on market access.
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