CCP Paves Way for Trump-Xi Summit with Cheng-Xi Meeting; Scholars Fear Impact on Arms Sales to Taiwan
Taiwanese scholars analyze that the CCP's arrangement of a "Cheng-Xi meeting" is to pave the way for a "Trump-Xi meeting," creating an atmosphere that US intervention is not needed for the Taiwan issue. They predict that Taiwan will be discussed at the Trump-Xi summit, which could affect arms sales to Taiwan.
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- 📰 Published: April 21, 2026 at 22:56
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, 21st, by reporter Liao Wen-chi) With a potential Trump-Xi summit in May, Taiwanese scholars analyze that the CCP's arrangement of a Cheng-Xi meeting is to pave the way for the Trump-Xi meeting, creating an atmosphere that US intervention is not needed for the Taiwan Strait issue. It is predicted that the Trump-Xi meeting will touch upon Taiwan, potentially affecting arms sales to Taiwan and US-Taiwan relations, but will not cause significant harm to Taiwan's sovereignty.
A seminar titled "Forecasting the 'Trump-Xi Summit' from the 'Xi-Cheng Meeting' - Exploring CCP's Policy Towards Taiwan" was held today at the NTU Hospital International Convention Center, with several scholars participating.
Regarding the Xi-Cheng meeting held on the 10th, Hung Yao-nan, deputy director of the Center for China Studies at Tamkang University, pointed out that its significance is threefold: firstly, to conduct a major external propaganda campaign towards the US and foreign countries, conveying that "the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair"; secondly, to pressure-test Taiwan; and thirdly, to be included in next year's 21st National Congress of the CCP as a political achievement of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's policy towards Taiwan in the past five years.
Tang Kai-tai, a consulting member of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, also stated that the polarized reactions within Taiwan caused by the Xi-Cheng meeting will surely be exploited by the CCP. By finding proxies within Taiwan and claiming these "patriotic forces on the island" are future partners for democratic consultation, it will be convenient to promote it as a major achievement of Taiwan policy at the 21st CCP National Congress.
Ho Szu-shen, a distinguished professor in the Japanese Department at Fu Jen Catholic University, stated that KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen's trip deviated from the "Ma Ying-jeou route" of "valuing the US, being friendly with Japan, and harmonizing with the mainland." Cheng Li-wen attempted to bridge the two sides of the strait with a historical perspective and maintain the status quo by "opposing independence," but ignoring the CCP's "promotion of unification" may make it difficult to effectively maintain a favorable status quo for Taiwan and create cross-strait peace.
Siao Du-hwan, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Chinese Culture University, said that Beijing's launch of 10 Taiwan-related measures after the Xi-Cheng meeting shows that Beijing acknowledges that military intimidation and economic punishment alone are not effective in shaping Taiwan's political direction. Therefore, it needs to rebuild exchanges as a tool to influence Taiwanese society's public opinion and political perception.
Siao Du-hwan stated that the arrangement of the Xi-Cheng meeting is also related to the Trump-Xi summit. By creating an image of "peaceful exchanges still exist across the strait" through the Xi-Cheng meeting before the Trump-Xi summit, Beijing can send a signal to Washington that the Taiwan Strait issue may not necessarily require US intervention and can be managed through interaction between China and Taiwan's opposition forces, paving the way for the negotiation atmosphere of the Trump-Xi summit.
Regarding the topics of discussion at the Trump-Xi summit, Chang Wu-ueh, director of the Center for Cross-Strait Relations at Tamkang University, analyzed that the first issue is trade and tariffs, but with continuous dialogue between Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the probability of major disagreements is not high. The second is technology control and rare earths, which are also unlikely to cause major contradictions and differences between the two sides.
The third is investment and procurement, which may be linked to arms sales to Taiwan and US-Taiwan relations. Chang Wu-ueh pointed out that US President Trump would want China to buy soybeans, beef, Boeing aircraft, and even natural gas and oil; and China's "political achievement" of purchasing from the US would be helpful in the November midterm elections.
Chang Wu-ueh stated that the Trump-Xi meeting might discuss Taiwan during procurement talks, including whether to continue arms sales to Taiwan, high-level visits between the US and Taiwan, and further enhancement of relations between the US legislative and executive branches and Taiwan. However, he does not believe it will cause great harm to Taiwan's sovereignty, as structural contradictions exist in US-China relations, and it remains to be seen whether the four interactions between the US and China this year will be smooth.
As for whether the Trump-Xi summit will result in a "Fourth US-China Joint Communiqué," Hung Yao-nan said he "doesn't think so." He pointed out that the contradictions between the US and China are greater, and Taiwan is an ally of the US in terms of semiconductor value and geopolitics. Although everyone thinks Trump has a transactional nature, he does not think Trump will trade Taiwan away, and this kind of talk is creating "doubt America theory" to make Taiwan's public suspicious of the United States. (Editor: Yang Sheng-ju) 1150421
A seminar titled "Forecasting the 'Trump-Xi Summit' from the 'Xi-Cheng Meeting' - Exploring CCP's Policy Towards Taiwan" was held today at the NTU Hospital International Convention Center, with several scholars participating.
Regarding the Xi-Cheng meeting held on the 10th, Hung Yao-nan, deputy director of the Center for China Studies at Tamkang University, pointed out that its significance is threefold: firstly, to conduct a major external propaganda campaign towards the US and foreign countries, conveying that "the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair"; secondly, to pressure-test Taiwan; and thirdly, to be included in next year's 21st National Congress of the CCP as a political achievement of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's policy towards Taiwan in the past five years.
Tang Kai-tai, a consulting member of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, also stated that the polarized reactions within Taiwan caused by the Xi-Cheng meeting will surely be exploited by the CCP. By finding proxies within Taiwan and claiming these "patriotic forces on the island" are future partners for democratic consultation, it will be convenient to promote it as a major achievement of Taiwan policy at the 21st CCP National Congress.
Ho Szu-shen, a distinguished professor in the Japanese Department at Fu Jen Catholic University, stated that KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen's trip deviated from the "Ma Ying-jeou route" of "valuing the US, being friendly with Japan, and harmonizing with the mainland." Cheng Li-wen attempted to bridge the two sides of the strait with a historical perspective and maintain the status quo by "opposing independence," but ignoring the CCP's "promotion of unification" may make it difficult to effectively maintain a favorable status quo for Taiwan and create cross-strait peace.
Siao Du-hwan, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Chinese Culture University, said that Beijing's launch of 10 Taiwan-related measures after the Xi-Cheng meeting shows that Beijing acknowledges that military intimidation and economic punishment alone are not effective in shaping Taiwan's political direction. Therefore, it needs to rebuild exchanges as a tool to influence Taiwanese society's public opinion and political perception.
Siao Du-hwan stated that the arrangement of the Xi-Cheng meeting is also related to the Trump-Xi summit. By creating an image of "peaceful exchanges still exist across the strait" through the Xi-Cheng meeting before the Trump-Xi summit, Beijing can send a signal to Washington that the Taiwan Strait issue may not necessarily require US intervention and can be managed through interaction between China and Taiwan's opposition forces, paving the way for the negotiation atmosphere of the Trump-Xi summit.
Regarding the topics of discussion at the Trump-Xi summit, Chang Wu-ueh, director of the Center for Cross-Strait Relations at Tamkang University, analyzed that the first issue is trade and tariffs, but with continuous dialogue between Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the probability of major disagreements is not high. The second is technology control and rare earths, which are also unlikely to cause major contradictions and differences between the two sides.
The third is investment and procurement, which may be linked to arms sales to Taiwan and US-Taiwan relations. Chang Wu-ueh pointed out that US President Trump would want China to buy soybeans, beef, Boeing aircraft, and even natural gas and oil; and China's "political achievement" of purchasing from the US would be helpful in the November midterm elections.
Chang Wu-ueh stated that the Trump-Xi meeting might discuss Taiwan during procurement talks, including whether to continue arms sales to Taiwan, high-level visits between the US and Taiwan, and further enhancement of relations between the US legislative and executive branches and Taiwan. However, he does not believe it will cause great harm to Taiwan's sovereignty, as structural contradictions exist in US-China relations, and it remains to be seen whether the four interactions between the US and China this year will be smooth.
As for whether the Trump-Xi summit will result in a "Fourth US-China Joint Communiqué," Hung Yao-nan said he "doesn't think so." He pointed out that the contradictions between the US and China are greater, and Taiwan is an ally of the US in terms of semiconductor value and geopolitics. Although everyone thinks Trump has a transactional nature, he does not think Trump will trade Taiwan away, and this kind of talk is creating "doubt America theory" to make Taiwan's public suspicious of the United States. (Editor: Yang Sheng-ju) 1150421