Potential Taiwan tension sparked 'last minute' change in Trump-Xi National Archives visit

On Friday, the National Archives Museum prepared to welcome President Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Inside the museum's main foyer, a long table had been set up in the center of the room that morning, with a temporary display resting on the black tablecloth showcasing a brick from the Great Wall of China and an elaborate 19th century scroll sent by a Qing emperor. But the entire display was removed, due to a "last minute" change in the event, according to a Chinese diplomat granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The sudden change was precipitated because of Chinese displeasure over one document that the U.S. had planned to show: the Treaty of San Francisco of 1951, according to the diplomat and two other people familiar with the matter granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Beijing was irate over the Treaty of San Francisco "because the U.S. and Japan signed it, but not China," according to one of the Chinese diplomats. The treaty, which ended World War II hostilities between Japan and the Allied Powers, including the U.S.

Both Trump and Xi referenced last week how the two countries fought together on the same side during the conflict. But the treaty also leaves the status of Taiwan undetermined and does not state that the island belongs to Beijing. "It is a point of contention for the Chinese because they were not signatories to the Treaty of San Francisco, and they do not like the fact that the treaty of SF leaves undetermined Taiwan's political status," said Ryan Hass, a Taiwan and China expert at the think tank Brookings Institution in Washington.

An administration official speaking on anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on the record told NPR the group at the archives viewed "important, historic documents that set the foundation for 250 years of American greatness." "The visit offered an opportunity for both leaders to discuss the United States and China's history and concluded a very productive state visit between the two leaders," the official said. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. Other documents key to defining the U.S.' relationship to Taiwan were also discussed for possible display, according to U.S. officials involved in the visit planning, namely the Six Assurances and the Three Communiques, but those documents were ultimately not included.

The incident shows how sensitive Taiwan remains in the U.S.-China relationship and how minute differences in historical interpretation continue to have foreign policy consequences. The discussion to include Taiwan-related documents, which would almost certainly anger Beijing, are also an indication of pushback from within the U.S. government against President Trump's warm reception of Xi, and sparked in part by concerns that Xi would try to change the U.S.' official stance towards Taiwan. Taiwan, a democratic island which China hopes to control one day, has its own government and military, but Beijing is opposed to the island declaring formal independence.

The U.S. does not have formal relations with Taiwan nor does it have any commitment to defend Taiwan should China ever attack the island. However, through a web of American legislation and diplomatic statements, including the Six Assurances and Three Communiques, the U.S. remains the island's main security guarantor. "I think the trip to the National Archives was intended to reciprocate Xi Jinping's hospitality in Beijing when he took Donald Trump to the Temple of Heaven and the private tour of the gardens in Zhongnanhai [the central leadership compound in Beijing].