President Donald Trump says that Chinese President Xi Jinping has given him assurances that Beijing would take no action toward its long-stated goal of unifying Taiwan with mainland China while the Republican leader is in office.

Mr. Trump said that the long-contentious issue of Taiwan did not come up in his talks with Mr. Xi on Thursday in South Korea that largely focused on U.S.-China trade tensions. But the U.S. leader expressed certainty that China would not take action on Taiwan, while he’s in office.

“He has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Mr. Trump said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS’ programme “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday (November 2, 2025).

U.S. officials have long been concerned about the possibility of China using military force against Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed U.S. relations with the island, does not require the U.S. to step in militarily if China invades but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status by Beijing.

Asked if he would order U.S. forces to defend Taiwan if China attacked, Mr. Trump demurred. The United States, both Republican and Democratic administrations, have maintained a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan — trying not to tip their hands on whether the U.S. would come to the island’s aid in such a scenario.

“You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Xi.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not provide further details about when Mr. Xi or Chinese officials have conveyed to Mr. Trump that military action on Taiwan was off-the-table for the duration of the Republican’s presidency.

The “60 Minutes” interview was taped on Friday at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It marked Mr. Trump’s first appearance on the show since he settled a lawsuit this summer with CBS News over the newsmagazine’s interview with Kamala Harris.

The rest of the interview is scheduled to air later on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (October 30, 2025) said India has been “very good” on the issue of reducing oil imports from Russia, reiterating his claim that Delhi will significantly reduce its energy purchases from Moscow.

Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington following his summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, Mr. Trump was asked about Russian oil purchases.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Xi has been “buying oil from Russia for a long time. It takes care of a big part of China. And, you know, I can say India’s been very good on that front. But we didn’t really discuss the oil. We discussed working together to see if we could get that war finished.”

Mr. Trump has been claiming for the past few days that Delhi has assured him that it will significantly reduce its oil imports from Russia.

Last week, Mr. Trump reiterated his claim that India has agreed to “stop” buying oil from Russia and would bring them down to “almost nothing” by the end of the year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that India is a significant importer of oil and gas, and it has been Delhi’s consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario.

“Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective. Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.

“Where the U.S. is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” the MEA had said earlier this month.

A group of Chinese H-6K bombers recently flew near Taiwan to practice “confrontation drills”, Chinese state media reported late on Sunday (October 26, 2025), publicising the action just a few days before the U.S. and Chinese presidents are due to meet in South Korea.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, sends its combat aircraft and warships into the skies and waters around the island on a daily basis, though Taipei’s Defence Ministry has not reported any unusual activity lately.

Chinese state television’s military channel’s Weibo account said that recently — it did not give a date — units from the Eastern Theatre Command had conducted combat-oriented training to test their capabilities in areas like air blockades and precision strikes.

“Several J-10 fighters flew in combat formation to a designated target airspace, and multiple H-6K bombers went to the waters and airspace around Taiwan island to carry out simulated confrontation drills,” it added, without providing the location.

China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Taiwan’s Defence Ministry had no immediate comment.

The H-6K is a strategic bomber that can carry nuclear weapons.

The report added that defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity through “concrete actions and safeguarding the peace and happiness of hundreds of millions of people is our solemn commitment”.

It showed a video of bombs being dropped, and in one segment an air force officer says that the “coast of Taiwan can be clearly made out”, though it is not clear from the image whether any land can be seen.

Trump XI meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea this week to discuss their ongoing trade dispute.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday (October 26, 2025) that Taiwan should not be concerned about the talks.

Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, has over the decades enjoyed strong though unofficial support from the United States, which despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

On Saturday (October 25, 2025), a senior Chinese official said China and Taiwan should work to achieve “peaceful reunification”, marking the 80th anniversary of Taiwan being handed over to the Chinese government from Japanese rule at the end of World War Two.

In an interview with two Taiwanese YouTubers broadcast late on Saturday (October 25, 2025), Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said peace had to rely on strength, pointing to his government’s commitment to increased defence spending.

“We have ideals about peace, but cannot have illusions to believe that an agreement on a piece of paper can achieve peace,” he added.

China has rebuffed multiple offers of talks from Mr. Lai, accusing him of being a “separatist”. Mr. Lai has said only Taiwan’s people can decide their future

A trade deal between the United States and China is drawing closer, officials from the world’s two largest economies said on Sunday (October 26, 2025) as they reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalise during their high-stakes meeting.

The Republican President is set to meet with Xi on Thursday (October 30) in South Korea, the final stop of his trip through Asia.

Any agreement would be a relief to international markets even it does not address underlying issues involving manufacturing imbalances and access to state-of-the-art computer chips.

Beijing recently limited exports of rare earth elements that are needed for advanced technologies, and Mr. Trump responded by threatening additional tariffs on Chinese products. The prospect of a widening conflict risked weakening economic growth worldwide.

China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, told reporters that the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus,” while Mr. Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said there was “a very successful framework.” Mr. Trump also expressed confidence that an agreement was at hand, saying the Chinese “want to make a deal and we want to make a deal.”

Mr. Trump reiterated that he plans to visit China in the future and suggested that Xi could come to Washington or Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida.

Mr. Bessent told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the threat of additional higher tariffs on China was “effectively off the table.” In interviews on several American news shows, he said discussions with China yielded initial agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the U.S., and that Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earths.

The progress toward a potential agreement came during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Kuala Lumpur, with Mr. Trump seeking to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker.

Yet his way of pursuing deals has meant serious disruptions at home and abroad. His import taxes have scrambled relationships with trading partners while a U.S. government shutdown has him feuding with Democrats.