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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump,<\/a> in his return to the White House, has demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan, an approach that is raising questions ahead of this week\u2019s summit<\/a> with Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> about whether the U.S. leader could be open to dialing back support for the island democracy<\/a> that Beijing views as its breakaway province.<\/p>\n Trump in December authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan<\/a> \u2014 the largest weapons sale ever to the island \u2014 but has not yet moved forward with delivery and even acknowledged that he’s discussed the sale with Xi<\/a>. He’s groused that Taiwan \u201cstole\u201d America\u2019s semiconductor business and called on Taiwan to pay<\/a> the U.S. for protection.<\/p>\n All the while, Trump has, with the threat of hefty tariffs, prodded Taipei to agree to massive investments<\/a> in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and to purchase billions of dollars\u2019 worth<\/a> of U.S. liquefied natural gas and crude oil.<\/p>\n His rhetoric is fueling speculation in Beijing, Taipei and Washington about America\u2019s commitment to help the island defend itself and whether Trump could be persuaded to cede ground on the long-standing U.S. posture toward the island.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s backers are concerned that Taipei will be \u201con the menu\u201d when Trump and Xi sit down for talks, said retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery.<\/p>\n \u201cI do worry that we have a transactional president and a transactional opportunity could arise, and then we would have a challenge,\u201d said Montgomery, now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that supports robust U.S. backing of Taiwan.<\/p>\n The Chinese have signaled they intend to make Taiwan a central part of the talks<\/a> between Xi and Trump this week<\/a>. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi raised Taiwan during a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> to prepare for the trip, and urged the United States to \u201cmake the right choices\u201d<\/a> about its policies toward the island in order to safeguard \u201cstability\u201d between the two nations, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n But Rubio said U.S. policy has not changed. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to see any forced or compelled change in the situation,\u201d he told reporters in Rome on Friday, saying it \u201cwould be destabilizing to the world.\u201d He noted that Taiwan would not be \u201ca feature of our trip, but it\u2019ll certainly be an item that\u2019s discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n White House officials have underscored that Trump, who also approved $330 million in aircraft parts for Taiwan’s military in November, has already approved more in military sales for Taiwan in the first year of his second term than the roughly $8.4 billion that Democratic President Joe Biden approved over his four years in office.<\/p>\n Taiwan has been under pressure from the Trump administration to increase its defense spending, and on Friday its lawmakers broke months of gridlock to approve $25 billion in arms purchases. It was significantly less than the $40 billion proposal put forward last year by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. A senior Trump administration official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said it was disappointing that the parliament did not fully fund Lai’s proposal. <\/p>\n Taiwanese government officials have expressed concern about China’s rhetoric<\/a> ahead of the summit, though they’ve also taken some comfort from Rubio’s measured comments.<\/p>\n \u201c(China) may attempt some maneuvering during the talks, but the U.S. has repeatedly reiterated, through both public and private channels, that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged,\u201d National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen told reporters.<\/p>\n The key question, China experts say, is just how far Xi will try to go in his effort to prod Trump closer to Beijing’s view.<\/p>\n China sees the self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province, to be annexed by force if necessary. It prohibits countries it has diplomatic relations with from having formal ties with Taipei. Since establishing diplomatic relations with modern China in 1979, the U.S. has managed to stay within the framework of Beijing\u2019s demands while maintaining informal support for Taiwan and providing it with arms.<\/p>\n As part of the U.S. ambiguity on Taiwan, Washington acknowledges Beijing\u2019s position that Taiwan is part of China but does not explicitly endorse it. The U.S. has also historically stated it \u201cdoes not support\u201d Taiwan\u2019s independence and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo between Taiwan and China.<\/p>\n But analysts say Xi could seek to persuade Trump \u2014 who already has demonstrated a willingness to blur the lines of traditional diplomacy \u2014 to loosen ties with Taiwan through curbs on U.S. arms sales or with informal limits on visits by prominent U.S. officials<\/a> to the island. In February, Trump suggested he broke from longstanding U.S. policy and consulted with Xi on arms sales to Taiwan.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEven if we don\u2019t see something as dramatic as a formal shift in declaratory policy, this time around, there is always a risk that President Trump may make an off-the-cuff remark given he\u2019s not necessarily somebody who appreciates the nuances of longstanding policy language,\u201d said Patricia Kim of the Assessing China Project at Brookings Institution in Washington.<\/p>\n A row between U.S. ally Japan and China has also raised speculation about the strength of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a> said a Chinese attack on Taiwan was of concern to the region and could constitute \u201ca survival-threatening situation\u201d for Japan, requiring the use of force.<\/p>\n Trump made back-to-back calls with Takaichi and Xi that same month, though he’s remained largely silent about the spat.<\/p>\n \u201cI know they have a little bit of an edgy relationship,\u201d Trump said as he hosted Takaichi for talks in March. He added, \u201cI\u2019ll be speaking Japan\u2019s praises when I\u2019m in China with President Xi.\u201d <\/p>\n