Taiwan remains one of the most sensitive issues in relations between China and the United States, as it combines questions of sovereignty, national identity, military security, and the unresolved legacy of the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and defines the issue as a core national interest. Taiwan, for its part, rejects Chinese sovereignty claims and maintains that it is already a self-governing democracy, officially known as the Republic of China. The United States takes no formal position on the question of Taiwan's ultimate sovereignty, but maintains extensive economic ties and security relations with Taipei. The dispute has gained even greater significance as both military activity around Taiwan and American arms sales to the island have intensified.
Why does China claim Taiwan?
China maintains that Taiwan has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times. The island became a province of the Qing dynasty in 1885, before being ceded to Japan in 1895 following the First Sino-Japanese War. With the end of World War II in 1945, Taiwan came under the control of the Republic of China government. Four years later, the Chinese Civil War concluded with Mao Zedong's communist forces establishing the People's Republic of China on the mainland. The defeated government of the Republic of China relocated to Taiwan. Beijing views this division as an unresolved consequence of the civil war. It considers Taiwan a Chinese province and rejects any notion that the island has a right to develop into a separate state. China states that it prefers peaceful reunification, but has never ruled out the use of force to achieve it. Chinese officials have repeatedly categorized Taiwan as part of China's core interests and warned that any move toward formal Taiwanese independence would cross a "red line." Beijing also strongly opposes high-level official contacts between foreign governments and Taiwan, particularly involving the United States, viewing such interactions as interference in an issue it treats as an internal Chinese matter.
How does China react to US–Taiwan relations?
China has repeatedly responded to major contacts between the United States and Taiwan by conducting military exercises around the island. In 2022, China carried out large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan following the visit to Taipei by then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Since then, Beijing has conducted several additional rounds of military exercises in response to developments involving United States–Taiwan relations. This military pressure has coincided with an increase in American security support for Taiwan. In late 2025, the Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms sales package for Taiwan, described as the largest such package ever authorized for the island. China has repeatedly demanded that Washington cease arms sales to Taiwan, arguing that such moves undermine Chinese sovereignty and escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
What is Taiwan's position?
Taiwan rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and functions as a democratic political system with its own government, armed forces, elections, and state institutions. Taipei maintains that the People's Republic of China has never governed Taiwan and therefore has no right to claim sovereignty over the island or represent its population internationally. Taiwan's official name remains the "Republic of China," reflecting the historical government that relocated to the island in 1949. Taiwanese authorities argue that the island already exercises independent self-governance and that there is no need for a separate declaration of independence. President Lai Ching-te has repeatedly proposed dialogue with Beijing, but China has rejected his overtures. Beijing does not recognize Lai as president of Taiwan and labels him a separatist. Neither side officially recognizes the authority of the other over its territory, leaving Taiwan's political status unresolved.
What is the United States' position?
The United States severed official diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 and established diplomatic ties with Beijing. Washington's policy toward Taiwan is based in part on the Taiwan Relations Act, which provides that the United States may supply Taiwan with defensive military equipment. At the same time, the US takes no official position on Taiwan's ultimate sovereignty under its "One China" policy. Washington has also maintained explicit security assurances toward Taiwan. In 2022, the US State Department added references to the so-called Six Assurances, security commitments given during the Reagan administration that were officially declassified in 2020. Among these assurances is that the United States has not agreed to set a target date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, nor to consult with Beijing before approving such transactions. China continues to demand that the United States end its military support for Taiwan.
How do Washington and Taipei maintain relations?
Although the United States and Taiwan do not maintain formal diplomatic ties, their relationship involves extensive economic and security cooperation. Washington maintains the American Institute in Taiwan, which performs many of the functions typically associated with a diplomatic mission. Taiwan also maintains close contact with US lawmakers and other officials. Taiwanese presidents routinely transit through the United States during unofficial stopovers when traveling to and from diplomatic partners in Latin America and the Caribbean. These visits often include meetings with American lawmakers, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations. Direct communication between US and Taiwanese presidents remains rare. Donald Trump stated in May that he would speak with Lai, though that phone call had not occurred as of the original source's publication. Trump's relationship with Taiwan previously included an unusual instance of direct outreach. In December 2016, shortly after his election, Trump held a roughly ten-minute telephone conversation with then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. China responded with a diplomatic protest, though it initially characterized the incident as a "petty action" by Taiwan.
Why does Taiwan remain such an explosive issue?
Taiwan sits at the intersection of China's territorial claims, the island's democratic self-governance, and the broader security posture of the United States in East Asia. For Beijing, the issue is tied directly to national sovereignty and the goal of reunification. For Taiwan, preserving its existing political system and the ability to govern itself lies at the heart of its position. For Washington, Taiwan forms an important part of broader regional economic and security arrangements, while the US continues to avoid formally recognizing Taiwanese independence. This combination transforms Taiwan into far more than a bilateral dispute between Beijing and Taipei. American arms sales, high-level political contacts, and military deployments around the island can escalate at any moment into flashpoints between the world's two largest powers.
The fragile balance
The result is a delicate status quo in which China continues to reject Taiwan's independence, Taiwan maintains its self-governance, and the United States supports its defense capabilities without officially recognizing it as an independent state. How long this fragile balance can be sustained remains one of the most critical strategic questions facing the Indo-Pacific region.
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