Reuters
–
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that China’s President Xi Jinping would not invade Taiwan while Trump took office.
Trump made a comment in an interview with Fox News ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“You say you know, you do something very similar to President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t think there’s anything that will happen as long as I’m here.
“He told me, ‘I will never do that as long as you are president,” President Xi Jinping told me, and I said, ‘Well, I’m grateful for it,’ but he said, ‘But I’m very patient, China is very patient,'” Trump said.
Trump and Xi Jinping held the first confirmed call for Trump’s second term of office in June. Trump also said that Xi called him in April but did not specify when the call was made.
China saw Taiwan as its own territory and vowed to “reunify” it with democratic and separately ruled islands by force when necessary. Taiwan is strongly opposed to China’s sovereignty claims.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington on Friday described the Taiwan topic as “the most important and sensitive issue” in China-US relations.
“The US government must adhere to the Wancina Principles and the three US-China joint communicaions, carefully deal with Taiwan-related issues, and seriously protect China-US relations, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Washington is Taiwan’s leading weapons supplier and international supporter, but the US, like most countries, does not have formal diplomatic ties with the island.
The Taiwanese government has yet to respond to Trump’s remarks, but on Saturday a senior lawmaker from the Progressive Party of the ruling Democrat said that Taiwan is grateful for the support from “our major allies.”
“But… security cannot rely on enemy promises, nor can we rely solely on help from friends. It is fundamental to strengthening our own defense capabilities!” Wang Tingyu, who is a member of the Taiwanese Parliament’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote on his Facebook page.
