Washington DC - Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to use this week's summit in Washington to put pressure on President Donald Trump to halt arms sales to Taiwan based on a 1982 agreement.
Three sources familiar with preparations for Trump and Xi's historic summit in Washington this week told Reuters that the Chinese leader is likely to bring up the third of three "joint communiques" between Washington and Beijing, signed in 1982.
The accord saw the Reagan administration agree that the US would gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan. China argues that by continuing sales nearly 50 years later, Washington is in violation of the agreement.
Reagan did clarify in a separate memo, however, that the "joint communiques" agreement is "conditioned absolutely upon the continued commitment of China to the peaceful solution."
Recent US administrations have argued that China's military threats and repeated live-fire drills in nearby waters prove that Beijing has no intention of abiding by its commitment.
Additionally, Washington is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and the Taiwan Defense Act of 2021 to maintain unofficial ties with Taipei and provide it with the means to defend itself.
Xi is set to arrive in Washington on Wednesday and will be greeted by Trump at Joint Base Andrews, before attending numerous high-level meetings the following day, including a visit to the White House.
He is expected to make the issue of Taiwan central to his discussions with the US leader, as well as concerns around ongoing trade disputes and the war with Iran.
According to one source: "[Xi is likely to] emphasize to Trump that Taiwan is the provocateur and the sole source of instability in US–China relations, and that Taiwan is the one changing the status quo."