Taiwan is expected to be among the key issues when US President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, as Washington seeks to avoid any fresh instability in the Indo-Pacific.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a White House press briefing that Taiwan was likely to come up during the talks, noting that it is a recurring issue in high-level exchanges between the two powers.
“I’m sure Taiwan will be a topic of conversation; it always is,” Rubio said.
He added that both Washington and Beijing understood that neither side would benefit from destabilising developments in the region.
“We don’t need any destabilising events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo-Pacific,” Rubio said.
Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing on May 14 and 15 for talks with Xi.
The meeting comes as Taiwan faces growing military pressure from Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.
The United States remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, a role that has long angered Beijing.