Khanna, Moolenaar slam China’s interference after Taiwan blocked from WTO Ministerial Conference

OPINION:

Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat, is the ranking member on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. The following are excerpts of his remarks about Taiwan.

Khanna, Moolenaar Slam China’s Interference After Taiwan Blocked from WTO Ministerial Conference (March 25, 2026 Press Release)

Today, Ranking Member Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party issued the following statement following reports that Taiwan was blocked from attending the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Yaound, Cameroon.

Cameroon’s decision to effectively exclude Taiwan from the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaound is another troubling example of China’s continued efforts to manipulate multilateral institutions.

Taiwan is a key global trading partner, not only for the United States but for countries around the world. Its compelled absence from the WTO’s premier decision-making forum for the first time since its accession in 2001 lessens the WTO’s collective ability to address challenges that chart the future of global trade. As a full WTO member, host countries for WTO conferences have a long-standing practice to recognize Taiwan as a “Separate Customs Territory.”

This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a sustained campaign by Beijing to marginalize Taiwan and exert undue influence over international bodies. The United States will continue to stand with Taiwan, which deserves a seat at the table as a model democracy, one of the world’s largest economies, and a technological powerhouse. We urge the WTO to stand up to China’s bullying and facilitate Taiwan’s participation in this Ministerial Conference.

Letter to President Trump about U.S. Taiwan policy on May 13, 2026, sent before U.S.-China Summit

Dear President Trump,

We write to encourage you, as you prepare to visit the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to reaffirm the United States’ long-standing One-China policy in order to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

For decades, the United States has contributed to the preservation of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by grounding its One-China Policy in the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), the Three Joint Communiqus, and the Six Assurances.

The TRA (P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) requires the United States to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. It also expresses the United States’ expectation that the future of Taiwan be determined by peaceful means. The Six Assurances reaffirm that, in the context of the 1982 United States-China Joint Communiqu on United States Arms Sales to Taiwan, the United States did not abandon Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China.

Specifically, the second Assurance states that the United States has “not agreed” to prior consultation with the PRC on arms sales to Taiwan. U.S. commitments to Taiwan have contributed vitally to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by deterring PRC military aggression and preventing a conflict that the American people resoundingly want to avoid.

Delays of Congressionally approved arms sales to Taiwan undercut the maintenance of effective cross-Strait deterrence, and even the possibility of the PRC unduly influencing the United States’ Taiwan policy undermines the spirit of both the TRA and the Six Assurances.

Therefore, in advance of your planned visit to Beijing, we urge you to:

1. formally notify and proceed with the export of Congressionally approved arms cases to Taiwan;

2. affirm the Administration’s commitment to the One-China Policy, as based on the TRA, Three Joint Communiqus, and Six Assurances; and

3. oppose any PRC attempt to dictate U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait rest on the United States’ steadfast adherence to the principles which it has upheld for decades.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

Sincerely,

Ro Khanna, Ranking Member, Select Committee on the CCP; Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee; Jim Himes, Ranking Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Adam Smith, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee

Rep. Ro Khanna on Taiwan (via an NPR Feb. 23, 2023 interview)

I think we should stick to President Carter’s formulation of the one-China policy and the Taiwan Relation Act, and that is that the United States would provide assistance in the support of Taiwan if there was a violation by China of the peaceful status quo.

What that support looks like, I think, is purposely ambiguous. And partly, it’s circumstantial. Everyone assumes that China would invade Taiwan in an amphibious landing. I actually don’t think that would be the most logical step that China would take. A far more plausible and concerning step could be if they had a blockade stopping any energy supply coming in to Taiwan…

…It’s bipartisan in the United States that we need Taiwan to develop a defense capability to deter any potential military incursion. People recognize that a war in the Taiwan Straits would be devastating. It also, by the way, transcends party lines in Taiwan. Whether it’s the DPP, KMT or TPP, the three leading parties, they all believe that Taiwan needs to improve its defense. So this is a place I think we can make concrete progress.

• Rep. Ro Khanna represents California’s 17th Congressional District. He is also ranking member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems.