FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, May 16, 2026. Donald Trump's two-day visit to Beijing produced an unexpected outcome for Taipei: barely back from China, the American president cautioned Taiwan against any formal declaration of independence. "I don't want someone to declare independence and, you know, we're then supposed to fly 15,000 kilometers to fight a war," he stated on Fox News, calling on both sides to "cool down the temperature".

These remarks, made aboard the return flight according to RFI Beijing correspondent Clea Broadhurst, came after an unusually direct warning from Xi Jinping during the summit. The Chinese president had cautioned: "The Taiwan question is the most important issue in Sino-American relations. If mishandled, the two countries will clash, or even enter into conflict." A formulation that France 24 and 20 Minutes characterize as particular firmness from the Chinese leader.

Taipei did not delay its response. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued Saturday a statement without ambiguity: "Taiwan is a democratic, sovereign and independent nation, which is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China." The government adds that Washington's policy toward it remains "unchanged," and recalls that American arms sales are "explicitly provided for by the Taiwan Relations Act"—a statute Taipei presents as a non-negotiable security commitment.

The question of arms sales constitutes precisely the heart of the crisis. Trump acknowledged he had not yet made a decision on this matter. According to 20 Minutes, analyst Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund suggests Beijing will seek to convince Washington to block new shipments before Xi Jinping's planned visit to the White House in autumn. In December, the Trump administration approved a first record contract of 11 billion dollars for Taipei; a second package of approximately 14 billion dollars awaits presidential signature, according to Reuters cited by France 24.

RFI notes that Trump reprises "almost word for word" the status quo logic defended for decades by Washington: neither official independence nor forced reunification. But the context has changed: the pressure exercised by Xi Jinping during the summit represents an unprecedented signal about the White House occupant. China, which considers Taiwan a province to be reunified since the end of the 1949 civil war, affirms it favors a peaceful solution while maintaining the possibility of recourse to force.

For the French press, this saga reveals the fragility of the Washington-Beijing-Taipei triangle: each American diplomatic gesture can be interpreted as a signal of support for Taipei or concession to Beijing, rendering any stable reading of American positioning particularly uncertain.