{"text":[[{"start":9.3,"text":"Beijing is holding up a proposed visit by the Pentagon’s top policy official as China pressures Donald Trump over a $14bn weapons package for Taiwan."}],[{"start":19.15,"text":"Elbridge Colby, under-secretary of defence for policy, has discussed a summer visit to Beijing with Chinese officials, according to people familiar with the talks. But China has signalled that it cannot approve a visit until Trump decides how he will proceed with the arms package."}],[{"start":35.75,"text":"The FT reported in February that the administration had compiled the weapons package after announcing a record $11.1bn arms sale in December. Beijing reacted angrily to that package and cancelled an earlier round of negotiations with Colby about a visit to China."}],[{"start":53.3,"text":"In an interview with Fox News following his summit with President Xi Jinping last week, Trump said he was holding the weapons “in abeyance” and added that it was a “very good negotiating chip”. "}],[{"start":64.6,"text":"He later refused to say if he would approve the package, sparking anxiety in Taiwan. The administration planned to notify Congress about the arms sales in February but delayed the decision after criticism from Beijing."}],[{"start":78.69999999999999,"text":"Asked about the issue on Wednesday, Trump suggested that he would also talk to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te. "}],[{"start":86.14999999999999,"text":"Trump spoke to then-president Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 when he was president-elect, but no American president has talked to a Taiwanese leader since Washington switched its diplomatic recognition for China from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. "}],[{"start":102.35,"text":"“I suspect that Beijing will use any future trip by Bridge Colby or defence secretary Pete Hegseth as leverage to push the Trump administration to delay, divide or downgrade a prospective arms sales package for Taiwan,” said Zack Cooper, an Asia security expert at the American Enterprise Institute."}],[{"start":122.75,"text":"Hegseth became the first defence secretary to visit China since 2018 when he travelled with Trump to Beijing last week. It was the first time a Pentagon chief had visited China with a president."}],[{"start":134.75,"text":"The Pentagon said it did not comment on “potential travel” by officials. But a defence official told the FT that it was “committed to building on President Trump and secretary Hegseth’s historic visit to Beijing”."}],[{"start":147.2,"text":"“Secretary Hegseth, under-secretary Colby, and other key department officials already engage with their PRC [People’s Republic of China] counterparts on a regular basis, and they look forward to continuing doing so in a spirit of respect, realism and clarity,” the official said."}],[{"start":164.54999999999998,"text":"One person familiar with the situation said Colby would use the visit to China to discuss Hegseth returning to Beijing."}],[{"start":171.64999999999998,"text":"The Pentagon has been pushing to improve communication between the US and Chinese militaries in recent years, particularly as the People’s Liberation Army has conducted increasingly aggressive military exercises around Taiwan. "}],[{"start":184.39999999999998,"text":"Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, has described the exercises as “rehearsals” for possible future military action against Taiwan, over which mainland China claims sovereignty."}],[{"start":197.64999999999998,"text":"“A Colby visit to China would provide an opportunity to convey US concerns about Chinese pressures and coercion against US partners and allies, its nuclear modernisation, and cyber and space activities,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund. "}],[{"start":213.95,"text":"Colby could also elaborate on the US national defence strategy that he helped draft and discuss military AI applications and crisis communications, Glaser added."}],[{"start":223.89999999999998,"text":"Trump faces a conundrum in deciding how to proceed with the $14bn package, which includes Patriot interceptor missiles and Nasams, advanced surface-to-air missiles. He has to weigh the possible impact on Xi’s expected reciprocal visit to Washington in September."}],[{"start":242.34999999999997,"text":"“The Chinese are well aware that President Trump is not going to end arms sales to Taiwan, but their ultimate goal is to delay the announcement of another major arms package until after Xi Jinping’s late September state visit to Washington,” said Dennis Wilder, a former top CIA China expert. “It is less a test of Trump’s commitment to assisting with Taiwan’s defence than an effort to save Xi any embarrassment.”"}],[{"start":268.54999999999995,"text":"The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was “not familiar” with the situation regarding Colby. But it said China was “firmly opposed to the US’s arms sales to China’s Taiwan region”."}],[{"start":290.6499999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779346812_7310.mp3"}