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Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a blunt warning to US President Trump over Taiwan in their first round of talks on Thursday. Jinping said, according to state media, that relations between Beijing and Washington could enter an “extremely dangerous place” if Trump ignored China’s demands over Taiwan.
China's ‘blunt’ warning to US over Taiwan
"Noting that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations," Xi reportedly told Trump that if it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability.
"Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy," Xi said, according to China's state media, Xinhua news agency.
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The "Taiwan question" refers to China's claim that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory, despite Taiwan's democratically elected government. This assertion is a sensitive issue because China vows to unify Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary, which could lead to conflict with the US.
Xi Jinping warned Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to "clashes and even conflicts," pushing the entire China-US relationship into a "highly dangerous situation." He emphasized that Taiwan independence and cross-Strait peace are irreconcilable.
The US recognized the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged China's position that Taiwan is part of China. However, the US maintains a robust unofficial relationship with Taiwan.
The One China Principle asserts that Taiwan is part of China and only the PRC is the legitimate government. The One China Policy is a stance where countries acknowledge the PRC's claim over Taiwan but do not endorse it, allowing for strategic ambiguity and unofficial engagement with Taiwan.
Over the past few years, China has staged large-scale war games around Taiwan and regularly sends fighter jets and warships into the Taiwan Strait to assert its claims over the island.
The Chinese President also emphasised that "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.
Following Xi's Thursday comments, Taipei called China the "sole risk" to regional peace, and insisted "the US side has repeatedly reaffirmed its clear and firm support", AFP reported.
Adam Ni, editor of the newsletter China Neican, told AFP that while Xi's "blunt language" was not uncommon in party-state media, it was unusual for the leader himself.
What's the 'Taiwan question'?
Taiwan has been a sensitive issue for China for years. Beijing claims that the island country located in East Asia, which democratically elects its President, is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or mainland China — a claim refuted by Taiwan leaders.
Mainland China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule, asserts that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory, though it has never governed the island.
China has vowed to eventually “unify” Taiwan with the mainland, preferably by peaceful means but by force if necessary.
"Taiwan is China's territory. China must safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity and will never allow Taiwan to be separated from the motherland," Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, had said at a press conference on February 5, 2026.
In 2024, Chen Binhua was quoted by Reuters as saying that China's position that it will not renounce using force to bring Taiwan under its control is aimed at "foreign interference and a tiny number of separatists..."
However, Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.
Over the past few years, China has staged large-scale war games around Taiwan and regularly sends fighter jets and warships into the Taiwan Strait.
Is China part of Taiwan?
The Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan, according to the Taiwan government. After Japan surrendered at the end of World War II, it handed Taiwan and Penghu to the ROC.
The dispute dates back to 1949 and the end of the Chinese civil war between the ruling Nationalist government and the insurgent Communists.
The Communists won that conflict, seizing control of mainland China in 1949 and forcing the Nationalists to retreat to Taiwan, where they set up a government in exile and maintained their claim to the mainland, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Today, Beijing, led by the CCP, asserts that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it.
As Taiwan's status remains a flashpoint, China has repeatedly urged relevant countries, including the US, to uphold the "one-China principle."
The One China Principle vs. The One China Policy
According to the Taiwan Center for Security Studies, the terms One China Policy and One China Principle relate to Taiwan’s status. Although they are used inter-changeablt, they they carry different diplomatic meanings and commitments.
It explains that the One China Principle holds that Taiwan is part of China and that there is only one legitimate and sovereign state representing the whole of China, namely the People's Republic of China (PRC). It reinforces Beijing’s authority over the island.
Meanwhile, several countries claim to support the "One China Policy". The organisation said that it is a stance some countries take in navigating their relationships between Taiwan and China.
"Countries using this policy acknowledge the PRC’s claim over Taiwan but do not endorse it, which allows for strategic ambiguity. States can then engage with Taiwan unofficially while maintaining formal ties to Beijing," the organisation added.
Where does the US stand?
"The US and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship," the government of the United States says.
"The 1979 US-PRC Joint Communique switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. In the Joint Communique, the US recognised the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China," the official statement reads.
https://2021-2025.state.gov/countries-areas/taiwan/
However, in August 2022, a highly controversial visit of then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan had triggered a major geopolitical crisis.
Pelosi had become the most senior US official to visit the self-ruled island in 25 years, drawing severe condemnation from Beijing, BBC reported back then.
However, the then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen had said that Pelosi's visit sends a message to the world that "democracies stand together" in the face of common challenges.
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