As US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for a high-stakes summit in Washington, Taiwan Talks sits down for an exclusive interview with renowned political scientist Larry Diamond to discuss what this meeting could mean for the future of Taiwan, US-China relations and Indo-Pacific security. Diamond argues that that Taiwan's security must remain off the negotiating table, and that the US should strictly avoid any linkages between trade and its commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act. In this wide-ranging interview, we also delve into China's economic challenges, the importance of preserving Taiwan's international space, the artificial intelligence and robotics race, and why Taiwan’s future matters to democracy and the strategic balance across Asia.
*Recorded on September 8, 2026 at 6pm Taiwan Standard Time
Host/Senior Producer: Yin Khvat
Consultant: Max Yu
Videographer: Jun Ng
Our guest:
Larry Diamond
- Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Professor of Sociology and Political Science
- Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Mosbacher Senior Fellow of Global Democracy
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