US Congress Urges Lai Visit Rights and Taiwan Arms Sales Before Summit; Washington Post and US News Publish High-Stakes Trump-Xi Analyses — 3 Days to Beijing Meeting

With the May 14-15 Trump-Xi Beijing summit three days away, US lawmakers escalated pressure on the administration on May 11, 2026. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging that President Lai Ching-te be given the same US visit rights under the Taiwan Travel Act as KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun — who had visited Washington in April without triggering PRC escalation. This followed a separate Senate Foreign Relations Committee effort by Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Tillis (R-NC) urging Trump to formally proceed with the pre-approved $14 billion arms package (PAC-3 MSE, NASAMS, integrated battle command system, loitering munitions) before departing for Beijing. The Washington Post published a major May 11 analysis warning that Trump may use Taiwan's arms pipeline as a bargaining chip in exchange for Chinese concessions on trade or the Iran War. US News/AP published a complementary 'high stakes for Taiwan' analysis confirming Xi Jinping plans to press Trump on limiting arms sales and opposing Taiwan independence — and that US strategic ambiguity has left Taiwan with no formal security guarantee heading into the summit. CNBC reported world leaders from Singapore to Brussels are monitoring the summit specifically for Taiwan and Strait of Hormuz implications. Taiwan's 20-day countdown to the HIMARS payment deadline (May 31) adds urgency: if Trump signals arms sales restraint in Beijing, Taiwan's ability to resolve the payment dispute becomes more politically contested domestically. The South China Morning Post noted the record $11B December 2025 Taiwan arms sale now casts a long shadow over Trump's Beijing visit, with Xi seeking formal commitment to dial back the US-Taiwan arms relationship.