Asian Allies Want Trump-Xi Truce, but Not at Their Own Expense

As US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to meet, America's allies in Asia are voicing concern that any resulting truce between Washington and Beijing should not come at the cost of their own security interests.

Regional partners are reported to be particularly attentive to the possibility that the United States could soften its stance on Taiwan, or on other regional security issues, in exchange for trade or economic concessions from China during the summit.

Such concerns reflect longstanding anxieties among US allies in the Asia-Pacific about being sidelined or having their interests traded away in the context of broader US-China negotiations focused primarily on trade and economic matters.

Taiwan has remained one of the most sensitive flashpoints in US-China relations, with allies closely monitoring any shift in rhetoric or policy commitments that could signal a change in Washington's approach to the self-governed island.

Beyond Taiwan, regional security issues including disputes in the South China Sea and broader questions of US military posture in the region are also seen as areas where allies fear their interests could be affected by any grand bargain reached between the two leaders.

No specific concessions related to Taiwan or regional security have been confirmed as being on the summit agenda, and US officials have not indicated any intention to alter the country's existing positions on these issues.

The concerns voiced by regional allies underscore the broader stakes that countries beyond the two principal parties attach to the outcome of the Trump-Xi summit, even as the meeting's stated focus remains centred on trade, artificial intelligence and security matters between the US and China.