Trump to Discuss Taiwan Arms Sales in Upcoming Beijing Meeting with Xi

Analysis
The delivery pause on the December $11 billion package, corroborated across three outlets though convergence weakens on delivery specifics, is the more revealing signal: the administration has already extended arms sales as a negotiating variable before talks begin. Pairing Taiwan weapons with Jimmy Lai's imprisonment on the same agenda treats both as transactional chips. Whether Washington modifies planned arms sales by mid-August 2026 is genuinely uncertain. Beijing's pressure and the delivery pause create space for a concession, though Taiwan's newly approved $25 billion defense budget constrains visible pullback. The public agenda-setting may instead be leverage to extract Chinese concessions on trade or rare earths.