US President Donald Trump said the issue of American arms supplies worth $12 billion to Taiwan has been put on hold for now.
“I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It depends. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons. It’s $12 billion. It’s a lot of weapons,” Trump told Fox News.
At the same time, the American leader said his talks in China did not affect US policy toward Taiwan.
“Nothing’s changed,” Trump said in response to a relevant question.
Trump called on China and Taiwan to cool down.
“Taiwan would be very smart to cool it a little bit. China would be very smart to cool it a little bit,” Trump told Fox News.
The US President previously said he did not see any risk of the US-China disagreements over Taiwan escalating into a full-scale conflict.
Trump paid a state visit to China on May 13-15, where he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
