Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday that if U.S. President Donald Trump can persuade Chinese President Xi Jinping to permanently renounce the use of force against Taiwan, he would fully deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. In an interview on the U.S. conservative radio program The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Lai referenced a past claim by Trump that Xi had assured him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump remained in office, urging that any such pledge be made binding and final. Lai also cautioned that China’s rising military activity in the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea poses a regional threat not confined to Taiwan—with implications for U.S. strategic interests and the broader rules-based international order.
Lai’s remarks serve a dual purpose: they amplify Taiwan’s appeals for stronger U.S. backing and place moral pressure on Trump ahead of a possible leaders’ summit in South Korea later this month, where a meeting with Xi could provide a stage for such diplomacy. Despite lacking formal diplomatic ties, Taiwan regards the U.S. as its principal security partner, and Lai reiterated his administration’s plan to increase defence spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030 to reinforce Taiwan’s deterrent capabilities.
China has not publicly responded to Lai’s call. Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, rejects any legitimacy of its leaders making provocative statements. Observers cautioned that even if Trump were inclined to press Xi to abandon military options, achieving a credible and enforceable commitment would be extraordinarily difficult—raising questions about motives, verification, enforcement, and regional reactions.
