ExclusiveTrump: I Will Discuss Taiwan Arms Sales With Xi | China in Focus

Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. Three days to go. President Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping. What are the biggest flashpoints? Trump already confirmed that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan will be on the agenda. Well, I'm going to have that discussion with President Xi. President Xi would like us not to. And I'll have that discussion. Two Americans imprisoned in China for more than a decade. Now their families are asking President Trump for help. My dad passed in January and I promised him that I was going to bring her home. And I want to keep that promise to him so he can rest in peace. And a Chinese dissident who suffered from Beijing's transnational repression testified in the CCP New York police trial. He spoke with a witness shortly after his testimony. And just ahead of the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day, two Canadian cities have raised Falun Dafa Day flags. This comes after a Canadian mayor received a warning from the Chinese consulate not to support Falun Gong. He turned it over to the police and raised the flag anyway. Three days from now, President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to meet and tackle some of the world's biggest flashpoints, from the war in Iran to Taiwan, artificial intelligence, nuclear weapons, and even a critical minerals deal. The summit could help shape the future of U.S.-China relations and the global balance of power. Here's a look at what's on the agenda. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set for talks on Thursday and Friday in Trump's first trip to China since 2017. The leaders of the world's two largest economies will attempt to stabilize ties strained by trade, the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, and nuclear weapons. Alejandro Reyes from the University of Hong Kong's Department of Politics and Public Administration says it's an important summit for both leaders. Not just the geopolitics, world geopolitics, but also in the global economy. Here is what U.S. officials say is on the agenda. China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington, and end the ongoing conflict that began when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. But Trump may be overestimating China's global influence. So the idea that Iran, that Tehran would sort of take notes from Beijing and do whatever Beijing wants it to do is really not a way to understand that relationship. Xi, meanwhile, is frustrated with Washington over Taiwan. The U.S. remains the most important international backer and arms supplier for the democratically governed island, which Beijing claims as its own Chinese territory. China has ramped up its military presence near Taiwan in recent years, but U.S. policy will not change, an official said. The U.S. and China are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing airplanes, American agriculture, and energy, the official said. The two countries will also discuss lengthening a truce in their trade war. That will allow rare earth minerals to flow from China to the U.S., though it is not clear if that agreement will be extended this week. The Trump aides expressed increasing concern about advanced artificial intelligence models being developed in China. They believe the two sides need a channel of communication to avoid conflicts arising from their use. Washington has also long hoped to open up talks with Beijing about nuclear weapons, though China remains reluctant to discuss its arsenal. Officials say China has made clear they have no interest in discussing nuclear arms controls. Ahead of the summit, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson will hold trade negotiations with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Wednesday. He Lifeng has served as China's lead negotiator for trade talks with Washington for the past three years. President Trump said on Monday that he would discuss U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Well, I'm going to have that discussion with President Xi. President Xi would like us not to. And I'll have that discussion. That's one of the many things I'll be talking about. He'll bring up Taiwan, I think, more than I will. But I think that a discussion will be a little bit about, a little bit about energy and about the very beautiful country of Iran. Taiwan is closely watching the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting. The island said Monday it's confident in the stability of its relationship with the U.S., but hopes there are no surprises from the summit on Taiwan-related issues. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to bring up Taiwan with President Trump. A senior U.S. official said Sunday there wouldn't be any shift in U.S. stance on Taiwan. He added Washington is disappointed with the size of Taiwan's defense budget. Taiwan passed a $25 billion special defense budget last Friday after intense political infighting. The opposition party cut nearly 40 percent from the original proposal. The budget will cover U.S. arms purchases, but reduces funding for Taiwan's domestic weapons development. Taiwan's foreign minister said Monday he hopes parliament can take corrective action so the budget better supports the island's security. China said Monday it would not allow Taiwan to take part in the annual assembly of the World Health Organization next week. Taiwan's health minister said it's a shame the island was not invited, especially given the pressing global health challenges. He added that Taiwan will still send a delegation for meetings on the sidelines of the event. Taiwan has been excluded from most international organizations due to objections from Beijing. A religious cause or a political gesture, a Vatican official is making a rare trip to Taiwan this week. Cardinal Peter Turkson visited a Buddhist charity in Taiwan Monday for events marking its 60th anniversary. The trip is rare given the Holy See is working to improve ties with China. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries that have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and the only one in Europe. In a statement, Taiwan's foreign ministry said Taiwan and the Vatican share universal values including religious freedom and human rights. The families of two Americans in prison in China for more than a decade are asking President Trump for help. They are urging him to seek the release of their loved ones during his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. In Louisiana, a U.S. Army veteran is holding on to hope ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with China's Xi Jinping this week and for a deeply personal reason. Nelson Wells Sr. is among families urging the president to press for the release of two Americans jailed in China. They are 52-year-old Nelson Wells Jr., a Louisiana father of three, and 54-year-old Dawn Michelle Hunt, a Chicago-area artist and former flight attendant. Both were convicted on drug charges in cases their families say were blind mule scams, where they unknowingly carried narcotics and have been imprisoned for more than a decade. For Wells Sr., the wait has been devastating. When a child calls in a situation like that, you start feeling, wow, I can't do anything. My child needs me and I can't help him. I can't do anything. And that's what made me go to the point where I checked out. I didn't care about cancer. I didn't care about my heart. It was all about my son. I could not help him. For Trump, who has cast himself as a dealmaker, securing their release would be a win from a summit expected to be short on outcomes. Wells Sr. believes the president can make that happen. All we need is for somebody officially high up, not anybody from the bottom ranks, but somebody high up, President Trump, to say, oh, by the way, I know I got this here going on, this, this, that and the other, but y'all got two of my Americans, their parents and their family members that served my country well. Send them back home. What can we do to get them back home? The summit comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China ties. For both sides, a humanitarian release could be a point of progress. In Chicago, Dawn Hunt's brother Tim says their appeal is simple and urgent. They're both sick, you know, and we're just asking for, just for that humanity to, to overcome everything else. For humanity to overcome politics, to overcome everything and just bring them home. That's all we're asking for. Families say both detainees are in declining health. Hunt has developed serious health problems and needs blood transfusions, but is wary of prison doctors and reluctant to consent to surgery. Wells Jr. suffers from seizures, diabetes, high blood pressure and other complications. Beyond health concerns, their absence is still deeply felt at home. Wells Jr.'s youngest daughter, now 12, has barely known her father. She was six months old when he was arrested, his family said. Tim Hunt says their father died in January, still waiting for his daughter's return. My dad passed in January and I promised him that I was going to bring her home and I want to keep that promise to him so he can rest in peace. I want to keep that promise. A renewed sense of hope. That's how the daughter of a detained Chinese pastor describes the latest developments surrounding her father's case, as President Trump signals possible high-level attention. Grace Jing Drexel says her father's health continues to worsen behind bars. Azra Jing was arrested during China's crackdown on underground Christian churches. Here's Grace Jing Drexel on Fox News. We just received information a couple of days ago that the president has said that he will mention my father's name ahead of the summit and that has given us tremendous joy and hope that we've just not had since the beginning. We would love for him to be able to be released as soon as possible. Drexel says her father has been detained since October. He's among dozens of pastors who have been detained amid China's crackdown on Zion churches. Drexel adds that lawyers involved in the case have also faced pressure from Beijing authorities. She says Beijing's prison conditions are a major concern, noting her father suffers from severe type 2 diabetes. Despite that, the family says they are encouraged by President Trump's broader efforts to secure the release of Americans detained abroad. The president says he has already helped free more than 100 hostages in Dainese in recent years and that he's willing to take a look at Jing's case. The trial tied to a Chinese overseas police station in New York has now turned to the broader issue of Beijing's transnational repression. A Chinese dissident who flew in from California to New York testified as a witness. He told a jury what the police station meant to him and how he says the CCP has harassed him for the past three decades. NTD's Flora Hua spoke with the witness after his testimony. Here's the story. Earlier in the trial, the alleged conspiracy involving defendant Lu Jianwang, accused of taking orders from China to monitor and locate Chinese dissidents, emerged as a central focus. Defendant Lu Jianwang was once the leader of his hometown association in Chinatown. The organization is called the American Changle Association. In 2022, the FBI raided its office. A month later, agents arrested Lu and another man, accusing them of acting as unregistered foreign agents for the CCP. An FBI special agent who interviewed Lu testified that Lu admitted Chinese officials approached him in China about opening a New York branch of a local police station. Lu's defense attorney argues the station was set up to help Chinese nationals renew their driver's license. But federal prosecutors argue that explanation was meant to hide the station's covert operations, including taking part in Beijing's transnational repression of Chinese dissidents. Chinese dissident Xu Jie testified as a witness in the trial. He said he had never met or known the defendant before, yet little did he know the defendant had allegedly been asked by Beijing to verify his personal information, including where he was staying. I spoke with Xu Jie right after his testimony. I hope more Americans, especially jurors, can understand that many of us still face harassment and intimidation even after leaving China. We did not feel truly safe after coming to the United States. When they put up a police station sign in New York, they may say it is helping the community. But to us, it feels like another way to monitor and control Chinese dissidents living overseas. Xu has been actively criticizing the Chinese Communist Party for decades. He also participated in the June 4th student movement in Beijing in 1989. After seeing reports about the Chinese police station, Xu booked a flight from California to New York to protest what he described as China's long arm reaching into the U.S. By setting up overseas police stations, the Chinese government is extending its reach beyond China's borders. I've experienced this personally. When I was in Laos, I was called to a so-called Chinese community assistance center. But it was really meant to intimidate people, telling us to stay quiet and not criticize the Chinese government. The message was clear. Even if you leave China, you are still not safe. So if similar groups exist in the United States, we will protest against them. Besides Xu, court-verified messages show Chinese police officers asking the defendant to verify the identities of Falun Gong practitioners. The faith group known as Falun Gong has been persecuted in China since 1999. In the U.S., the group's freedom of belief is protected under the U.S. Constitution. The defendant also told the FBI he participated in Beijing-backed counter-protests against Falun Gong in Washington, D.C., when Xi Jinping visited the U.S. Xu says he believes more Chinese foreign agents will face charges on the international stage. In recent years, we've seen more cases like this, including in the U.K. What this shows is that the Chinese government is trying to use overseas police stations to pressure people around the world into staying silent and not criticizing China. But I don't think this strategy will succeed. Reporting from New York City, Flora Hua, NTD News. Coming up, a joint U.S.-China crackdown. Ahead of the widely anticipated Trump-Xi summit, authorities in both countries have arrested five suspects and seized drugs. Ahead of the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day, two Canadian cities have raised Falun Dafa Day flags. This comes after a Canadian mayor received a warning from the Chinese consulate not to support Falun Gong. He turned it over to the police and raised the flag anyway. And a race for next-generation military technology. The U.S. is testing new stealth drone technology in a key first flight, while China is expanding its own advanced drone capabilities. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Ahead of the widely anticipated Trump-Xi summit in three days, U.S. and Chinese anti-narcotics authorities have arrested five suspects and seized drugs in a joint crackdown. That's according to Chinese state media on Monday. In April, authorities carried out simultaneous operations in China's Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, as well as in Florida and Nevada. The operations resulted in the arrest of two Chinese nationals and three Americans. The report comes just days before President Trump's expected trip to China. It follows last year's decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods over concerns tied to fentanyl-related chemicals coming into the U.S. China has rejected those accusations, calling fentanyl a U.S. domestic issue and saying responsibility lies with Washington. Trump later agreed in October last year to reduce the fentanyl-related tariff in exchange for a Chinese crackdown on drug trafficking. However, the tariff was later struck down by the Supreme Court in February. In a separate report from Chinese state media, the U.S. deported a Chinese fugitive suspected of drug smuggling. Next, moving to celebrations in Canada. Ahead of the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day, two more Canadian cities have raised the flag, and one Canadian mayor is calling on China to stop torturing practitioners. Here's more. Cornwall has marked Falun Dafa Day for 13 consecutive years. Days later, Nanaimo, British Columbia, did the same. I, Leonard Krogh, mayor of the city of Nanaimo, do hereby proclaim May 13, 2026 as Falun Dafa Day in the city of Nanaimo in the province of British Columbia. At the Cornwall ceremony, a councillor from a nearby township said the principles spoke to a wider need. The core beliefs, the truthfulness and compassion and forbearance, I think is extremely timely in today's world. It's something that can be shared by all no matter where you are in the world. These gestures of support reach far beyond our community, enriching the public by raising awareness of Falun Dafa, and highlighting the vital importance of human rights and freedom of belief. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, was first introduced to the public in China in 1992. The Chinese Communist Party has persecuted Falun Dafa since 1999. We should be doubly grateful to be here in Canada, which was the first to recognize and honor Falun Dafa of the international community. I'm very proud of that. There we go. The right to practice Falun Dafa is important, and civic leaders need to show their support. The right to be who you want to be, to practice whatever faith you wish in this country, is a fundamental Canadian value. I call upon the Chinese government to cease doing that, to cease persecuting and torturing individuals. The rest of the world is watching. The rest of the world supports you. NTD News, Canada. Another flag-raising ceremony in a Canadian town drew attention from an unusual source. The mayor of Amherstburg said he received a message from China's consulate warning him to stop supporting Falun Dafa. He turned it over to the police and said it's the try to stop him from saying what he believes is true. And this Wednesday, a grand parade celebrating World Falun Dafa Day will bring even more color, lion dancers, dragons, and a message of hope and celebration right here in New York City. Don't miss NTD's special coverage of the annual World Falun Dafa Day parade this Wednesday, May 13th, starting at 10.30 a.m. Eastern, hosted by Stefania Cox and Kerry Dunst, only on NTD. Be sure to tune in. China has spent the past several years developing stealth drones designed to slip past radar and operate deep inside contested airspace. Now, the U.S. is testing new technology of its own as the race for next generation military drones continues to grow. A new experimental U.S. military drone has completed its first flight. This is a major step in the Pentagon's push for quieter, longer-range aircraft that are harder to detect. The system combines a traditional fuel engine with electric motors. It's designed to make the aircraft more efficient, quieter, and harder to detect. Last week, officials reported the large flying wing drone remains in the early testing phase. They said the successful flight in April helps validate technology that could shape future stealth drone operations. The development comes as Beijing continues advancing its own stealth drone programs. Last year, China confirmed the first flight of its CH-7 stealth drone. The aircraft was built for high-altitude surveillance missions inside heavily protected airspace. China has also been developing GJ-11 stealth drones near the Indian border in Tibet. Analysts say the aircraft could soon enter a semi-operational phase. Much like the new U.S. design, these Chinese drones are built to reduce radar detection and improve long-range performance. U.S. officials say the Pentagon's program remains experimental. But the successful first flight marks an important step as Washington works to compete with Beijing in the race for next generation stealth drones. That's all for today's China In Focus. Tiffany Meyer, if you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at ChinaInFocus at NTD.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on-the-clock original news coverage, visit us at NTD.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.