Trump Reveals Xi Jinping's Promise Not to Invade Taiwan

US President Donald Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump was in office.

Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News on Friday, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the conflict in Ukraine, Reuters notes.

“I’ll tell you, you know, you have a very similar relationship with President Xi Jinping of China and the President of Taiwan, but I don’t believe that’s going to happen in any way while I’m here. We’ll see,” Donald Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report.

“He said to me, ‘I will never do that while you are president.’ President Xi said that to me, 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 on Friday called Taiwan the “most important and sensitive issue” in China-US relations. “The US government should adhere to the one-China principle and the three US-China joint communiques, handle Taiwan-related issues reasonably, and sincerely safeguard China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in a statement.

Trump and Xi Jinping held their first official phone call of Trump's second term in June. Trump also said in April that Xi Jinping had spoken to him, but did not specify when the call took place.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” the island, using force if necessary. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims, Reuters reports.

Although Washington is Taiwan's main arms supplier and international sponsor, the US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with the island.

Taiwan's government has yet to respond to Trump's remarks, but a senior lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party said Saturday that Taiwan was grateful for the support from "our greatest ally."

“However, security cannot depend on the enemy’s promises or on the help of friends. Strengthening our own defense capability is of fundamental importance!” Wang Ting-yu, a member of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee of Taiwan’s parliament, wrote on his social media page.

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