Source: European Parliament
The issue of Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC) and of its future has been a major bone of contention between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, at least since the US Congress passed the ‘Taiwan Relations Act’ in 1979.
This issue has, however, gained considerably in attention in Europe, particularly since the start of the illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.According to the Chinese readout published after the summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in mid-May 2026 in Beijing, once the press had left the meeting room, President Xi had insisted that ‘the Taiwan issue is the most critical issue in China-U.S. relations’.
Following the summit, President Trump stated that the US does not support the independence of Taiwan, but refused to comment on the envisaged US arms sales to Taiwan.While there are no official diplomatic relations between the European Union and Taiwan (ROC), both sides cooperate not only on commercial issues, but also on disinformation and cyber-resilience.
The EU also categorically opposes the use of force in the Taiwan Strait.