Washington: U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts stated that the United States will not tolerate any attempt to change the status of Taiwan by force, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Sept. 24.
According to Focus Taiwan, Ricketts emphasized that Trump should address the Taiwan issue within the context of the U.S. position, which remains unchanged. Ricketts, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, declared, "We are not going to tolerate a change in the status of Taiwan by force."
Ricketts made these comments following a discussion at the Hudson Institute think tank, where he spoke on competition with China. He highlighted that Trump had approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan in December 2025, the largest to date. When questioned about a proposed $14 billion arms package for Taiwan that has not yet been approved by the Trump administration, Ricketts suggested that delivering the already promised weapons should be the immediate priority.
The senator stressed the need for Taiwan to strengthen its deterrence capability against China, including through increased defense investment and reserve system reforms. During his talk, Ricketts also pointed out the importance of the U.S. avoiding dependency on Chinese supply chains, especially for critical minerals and pharmaceutical precursors.
Ricketts argued that the goal is to avoid war, as a conflict between the U.S. and China would be detrimental to both nations and the global community. He acknowledged the importance of Trump's diplomacy with Xi in maintaining open communication, citing the upcoming meeting between the American and Chinese presidents.
He urged Trump to more aggressively hold China accountable for its agreements, mentioning a bilateral agricultural trade agreement that he claimed Beijing reneged on after Trump's first term. Despite uncertainties about China's reliability, Ricketts stated the U.S. should "absolutely" engage in dialogue with Beijing on artificial intelligence (AI) to understand China's stance and ambitions in the field.
Ricketts noted that AI is a domain where Xi believes China can surpass the U.S., despite America's military advantage. Therefore, the U.S. should carefully approach AI policy by establishing guardrails for deepfakes without hindering innovation, which has kept the country at the forefront of the field.