Does Trump care about Taiwan?

Jul 1, 2025

The podcast dives into Taiwan's precarious position between the U.S. and China, questioning Donald Trump's commitment to its defense amid strategic ambiguity. It highlights Taiwan's transformation into a democracy and its growing national identity, particularly post-2019 protests. The discussion reveals the significance of Taiwan's semiconductor industry to global trade and U.S. interests. Furthermore, it explores the military implications of potential Chinese occupation and China's evolving ties with Russia, raising concerns about regional stability.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Taiwanese Identity Shift

Taiwanese identity has evolved independently from mainland China over decades of democratic development.
Younger generations in Taiwan now primarily identify as Taiwanese, not Chinese.

INSIGHT

US Strategic Ambiguity on Taiwan

The US policy of strategic ambiguity means it may defend Taiwan but does not guarantee war over it.
Trump's trade deficit focus raises doubts about his commitment to Taiwan's defense.

INSIGHT

Taiwan's Strategic Economic Role

Taiwan's semiconductor industry is critical to US tech and economy.
China controlling Taiwan would threaten US military and economic security.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Ahead of last year’s US Presidential elections, Donald Trump was asked if he would defend China against Taiwan, he responded that Taiwan should pay the US for protection from China. Taiwan is a self-governing island, claimed by Beijing and whilst Taiwan is not formally recognised by the US, they do remain the island’s most important security partner. Taiwan manufactures over ninety percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductor chips, which makes some American industries heavily dependent on trade links with the island. But official US policy towards Taiwan is one of ‘strategic ambiguity’. So when the US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth recently warned of China posing an ‘imminent’ threat to Taiwan, whilst at the same time urging Asian countries to boost defence spending and work with the US to deter war, it raised the issue of how far America would be prepared to go to defend Taiwan. China in response accused the US of being the ‘biggest troublemaker’ for regional peace. The US has only just agreed a truce on trade tariffs with China and President Trump’s immediate attention has shifted onto issues in the Middle East, so if Pete Hegseth’s warning is valid, how far up the list is Taiwan in terms of Trump’s foreign policy priorities. This week on the Inquiry we’re asking ‘Does Trump care about Taiwan?’ Contributors: Dr Chun-yi Lee, Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Director of Taiwan Research Hub, University of Nottingham, UK Christopher S. Chivvis, Senior Fellow and Director, American Statecraft Program, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA Patricia Kim, Scholar on China, The Brookings Institution, Washington DC, USA Raymond Kuo, Inaugural Director, Taiwan Policy Initiative, The Rand Corporation, California, USA

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Tammy Snow Image Credit: Taiwanese flags wave at the park decorated by Chang Lao-wang, ahead of Taiwan National Day in Taoyuan, Taiwan, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang