U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him China would not invade Taiwan as long as Trump is in office.
Trump made the comments in a Fox News interview ahead of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump told “Special Report.”
He added that Xi had personally told him, “I will never do it as long as you’re president.”
“President Xi told me that, and I said, ‘Well, I appreciate that,’ but he also said, ‘But I am very patient, and China is very patient,’” Trump said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington addressed the matter in a statement, with spokesperson Liu Pengyu describing Taiwan as “the most important and sensitive issue” in China-U.S. relations.
“The U.S. government should adhere to the one-China principle and the three U.S.-China joint communiqués, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, and earnestly safeguard China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Liu said.
China views the democratic and self-governed island of Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” it with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims. While Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and international backer, the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties with the island.
