China calls Taiwan a red line before Xi-Trump Washington summit

Beijing,UPDATED: Sep 22, 2026 18:38 IST

China on Tuesday described Taiwan as a “red line” in its ties with the United States, a day before President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump. The issue has come into sharper focus ahead of the summit, with Xi expected to oppose a proposed USD 11 billion US arms package for Taiwan and press Washington to reduce its support for Taipei.

Beijing’s messaging before the visit also came as it watched developments in US-Japan ties and announced tighter controls on the export of fentanyl precursors, a long-standing demand from Trump. Xi is due to meet Trump on Thursday during his three-day visit to Washington, in what will be the two leaders’ second meeting since May.

Announcing Xi’s visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the meeting between the two leaders within half a year marked a “milestone of historic significance”. China claims the self-ruled island of Taiwan as part of its mainland and says it will integrate it. It also bars countries with which it has diplomatic relations from maintaining formal ties with Taipei.

The ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, underlined the importance of the Taiwan issue in US-China relations on Tuesday. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, citing the article, reported that the newspaper repeated that Taiwan is a “red line” for Beijing and called it a guardrail and safety net for China-US relations. “Managing ‘Taiwan independence’ is a key part of building constructive strategic stability between China and the US,” the front-page article said, while describing pro-independence forces as a “common enemy” of Beijing and Washington.

The article also said: “The US side must handle the Taiwan question with the utmost caution and take concrete action to safeguard the stable development of China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

China is also closely watching Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with Trump, during which she is expected to stress the strength of the US-Japan alliance and the need to maintain a firm stand on Taiwan, Japanese officials in Tokyo said. Takaichi is due to meet Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Kyodo reported. According to Japanese officials quoted by The Japan Times, she will use the talks to highlight the alliance and the need to further strengthen deterrence against what Tokyo calls Chinese military and economic coercion.

Tensions between China and Japan rose in November last year after Takaichi said in parliament that a Taiwan contingency could be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and could lead to action by the country’s defence forces in support of the US. The remarks angered China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, and ties between the two countries have remained strained since then.

Ahead of Xi’s visit, Chaoyang Shaoxia, a social media channel widely believed to be linked to the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Tuesday that the visit was aimed at “keeping the positive momentum going”. The ministry, Chinese embassies and ambassadors also posted videos in Chinese and English on social media, saying that “from Beijing to Washington DC, the China-US relationship must stay on course towards constructive strategic stability”.

Asked about the videos, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing on Tuesday: “China is ready to work with the US to enrich the China-US constructive relationship of strategic stability, enhance dialogue and cooperation, and properly manage differences to contribute to the well-being of both peoples and to a peaceful, stable and prosperous world.”

Separately, China on Tuesday tightened controls on the export of fentanyl precursors. Chinese anti-narcotics authorities warned companies and individuals against allowing medetomidine and tartaric acid, two chemicals used to make fentanyl, to be diverted into narcotics production. State-run Xinhua said the warning by the China Narcotics Control Commission was the latest move in Beijing’s intensified efforts to stop chemicals with potential use in illegal drug production from being diverted into unlawful channels. Trump has been pressing China to curb chemicals and equipment used to manufacture fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid blamed for the drug addiction crisis in the US.

In sum, China has gone into Xi’s Washington visit stressing Taiwan as a core concern, signalling its broader position on ties with the US and Japan, and moving on fentanyl-related controls as it prepares for the latest round of high-level talks with Trump.

With PTI Inputs

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