Trump says there will be no change in Taiwan policy after China trip ends

US President Donald Trump on Friday warned Taiwan against seeking independence and relying on US support, suggesting he has no interest in getting involved in a war that could arise from such a move.

“We don’t want a war, and if you put it that way, I think China will have no problem with it,” Trump told Fox News’ Brett Baier in an interview. “But we don’t see anyone saying, ‘Let’s be independent because the United States is supporting us.'”

The statements come after a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who warned the US on Thursday that relations with China depend on the Taiwan question and the extent of US support to the self-ruled island.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control. Xi has vowed to “crush” any efforts toward Taiwan independence.

Since Taiwan’s Democratic People’s Party (DPP) came to power in 2016, China has increased diplomatic and military pressure on the island, as the DPP platform considers Taiwan an “independent, sovereign country”, although it has never explicitly declared so. Beijing has called current President Lai Ching-te a “separatist”.

While the US does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, it maintains informal relations, and is the self-ruled island’s main defense supporter. In carefully crafted diplomatic terminology, Washington does not officially “support” Taiwan independence, but rather “opposes” it.

Any rhetoric from Washington in the direction of “protests” to independence would represent a victory for Beijing and chaos for Taipei.

“Nothing has changed” in U.S. policy toward Taiwan, Trump said in the Fox interview.