Xi Jinping wants Taiwan for free
Xi’s summit play is leverage on Taiwan. He wants a narrative of Trump yielding, then pressure by 2028. The quarantine threat matters more than invasion talk. Washington should coordinate force, economics, and allies now.
Key points
- Beijing wants leverage.
- Trump’s summit could seed a story that Taiwan is already sliding toward Beijing.
- The real danger is a customs quarantine, not an invasion.
- A 2028 Taiwan election and the KMT matter a lot here.
- Washington needs military, economic, and allied pressure together.
This is one of fifty stories I surfaced this week from Surface — a tiny slice of the full feed.
