Trump's China thaw leaves Taiwan decision looming as ex-NBA star warns island holds key to US AI race

"Taiwan is the center of the global technology race," former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview. "If you want to understand the future of AI dominance, economic power and national security, you have to understand Taiwan."

"I think President Trump has constantly emphasized that peace is preserved through strength. I believe maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait requires strong American leadership, strategic clarity, and a credible deterrent that leaves no room for miscalculation for authoritarian regimes," said Freedom.

The pending decision comes as Taiwan continues seeking U.S. weapons meant to harden the island against a potential Chinese attack. 

Trump has not publicly committed to whether to move forward with a new Taiwan arms package while the talks produced no publicly announced breakthrough on Taiwan or other key strategic disputes, making the pending arms decision a closely watched signal for both Beijing and Taipei.

"In his first term, President Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history," the official added. In his second term, President Trump approved more in his first year than all four years under President Biden."

Trump was joined in China by top American tech CEOs, including leading AI executives during the summit, underscoring how the U.S.-China rivalry over artificial intelligence has become both an economic and geopolitical arms race.

"Long-standing security cooperation and arms sales between Taiwan and the U.S. are grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act," said Lai.  "This serves not only as a testament to the United States' security commitment to Taiwan but also as the most vital deterrent force against actions that undermine regional peace and stability-a role it has fulfilled for decades."

Chips produced in Taiwan are used across a wide range of technologies, including consumer electronics, communications systems, and advanced defense applications.

A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson posted on X Thursday, that "'Taiwan independence' and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S."

Freedom will be visiting the island, where basketball is very popular, this October to help organize basketball camps for the next generation of athletes.

"I think my biggest goal during this trip is to document everything and also share with the world. I want people to see what Taiwan truly represents… a free country, vibrant, democratic society that refuses to bow down to intimidation," said Freedom.

Freedom said he wants to do whatever he can to bring attention to what he described as China's genocide against Uyghurs, as well as the struggles faced by Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, and, more recently, what he called the harassment of the Taiwanese people.