Donald Trump's China visit could face uncertainty over US' likely $20 billion new arms sale to Taiwan, says FT report

(Bloomberg) — The US is preparing new arms sales to Taiwan, which have unsettled Chinese officials to the point that President Donald Trump’s planned visit to China in April could be in jeopardy, according to the Financial Times.

The purchase would be in addition to an $11 billion deal announced in December, the FT said, citing people familiar with the matter that it didn’t identify. The arms would include Patriot and NASAMS missiles as well as two other systems, the paper said.

Some of the people told the FT that the price could be as high as $20 billion, while others said a final decision on the amount hadn’t been made, and it could be considerably less.

The Defense Department referred inquiries on the FT report to the State Department, which declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday evening.

Trump, who has been trying to ease disagreements with China over trade, rare earths, Taiwan and other issues, spoke to the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, earlier this week. Among the topics discussed was an April summit between the two men.

The armaments purchase announced in December, which included missiles, drones and artillery systems, marked one of the largest ever to Taiwan and prompted swift criticism from Beijing.

During the call between the two leaders, which Trump described as “excellent,” Xi said the American president must “handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence,” according to a Chinese account of the conversation.

That was unusually specific language for Xi, who normally sticks to broad statements on Taiwan, which China regards as its own.

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