TAIPEI — Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu said that a pending US$14 billion U.S. arms package for Taiwan should move forward, framing Taipei's self-defense as a core American interest rather than a concession to be traded away after a Trump–Xi summit.
Wu's remarks, reported by Reuters and Focus Taiwan, were Taipei's response to accounts that Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed President Donald Trump on Taiwan during their meeting. Wu's public argument was that the arms sale and continued U.S. support for Taiwan's defense align with Washington's interests in semiconductors, democracy and the regional balance.
The summit put new attention on the package, and Wu's comments were reported as Taipei's response to accounts of Xi's pressure. The question now is whether Washington treats the sale as a bargaining chip in its China diplomacy or as a standing element of its Indo-Pacific policy.
After the summit
For Taipei, the immediate question is procedural: whether Washington turns the pending package into formal action. Experts cited in the coverage said the test will be Washington's actions in the days and weeks after the meeting, not the language of the summit itself. That puts the focus on notifications, contracting and delivery schedules — the machinery that turns a strategic signal into actual defensive capacity.
Wu's answer is that the sale should not be treated as a bargaining chip. He argues that Taiwan's defense supports U.S. interests because the island is a critical semiconductor producer and a democracy in a region where Beijing's claims create growing risk.
Taipei's calendar
In Taipei, the political calendar adds its own demands. The foreign ministry's public case is aimed at Washington, but any major arms package eventually touches budget reviews and oversight. Lawmakers from both camps have debated defense spending before, and committee scrutiny can slow or reshape how programs are funded and when they arrive. Wu's argument is designed to keep the package on track before the next round of legislative business consumes the agenda.
The legislature's scrutiny is not a formality, and defense measures are no exception. That means Taipei must keep its own house in order while it waits for Washington to move.
Beijing has not issued a fresh detailed response in the reports reviewed. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly opposed U.S. arms sales. Taipei rejects Beijing's sovereignty claim and says it needs the weapons to deter an invasion. The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but has long been its most important arms supplier.
What to watch
Three markers will show whether Wu's push is gaining traction: whether Washington formally notifies Congress of the package, whether Taipei's defense budget lines for the purchases advance in the Legislative Yuan, and whether Trump administration officials repeat the self-defense framing in public after the summit.
For now, Wu's message is that delaying the package would not buy stability. It would instead signal that U.S. interests in Taiwan's semiconductors, democratic governance and military deterrence can be bargained away — a message Taipei wants to prevent before the next Trump–Xi contact.