U.S. assures Taiwan its interests will not be harmed in China talks: FM Lin

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Wednesday that the United States has given Taiwan the assurance that its interests will not be harmed when U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping (習近平) meet next week.

"The U.S. side has repeatedly told us that it remains steadfast in its support for Taiwan and that its exchanges with China will not harm Taiwan's interests," Lin said during a legislative session.

He did not disclose which U.S. government units or officials had given the assurance, nor did he offer any further details, when he was asked by lawmakers if he was worried that Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip in the upcoming meeting between the leaders of the world's two superpowers.

Lin pointed out that the U.S. has the Taiwan Relations Act, under which the U.S. makes available defense articles and services to help Taiwan maintain its self-defense capability.

Taiwan's government is closely monitoring the latest developments and has all contingencies in place, ahead of the meeting between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea next week, Lin said.

Last Sunday, Trump told reporters that "rare earths, fentanyl, soybeans, and Taiwan" are some of the divisive topics that will be discussed when he meets with Xi.

On Monday, when asked by a reporter whether the U.S. might adjust its position on Taiwan independence to reach a trade deal with China, Trump said, "We're going to be talking about a lot of things. I assume that [Taiwan] will be one of them, but I'm not going to talk about it now."

Meanwhile, a Taiwanese delegation, headed by Presidential Adviser Lin Hsin-i (林信義), will attend the APEC summit, where they will highlight Taiwan's expertise and experience in artificial intelligence, one of the themes of the summit, the foreign minister said. The delegation will also make a presentation related to Taiwan's low birthrate, he said.

In addition, the government is arranging many bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives of APEC member states on various issues of mutual interest, the minister said.

On the sidelines of the APEC meeting, the Taiwan delegation will have "natural exchanges" with U.S. representatives, including those in charge of bilateral tariff negotiations, Lin said.