US President Donald Trump has signaled that he is open to speaking directly with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, a move that would mark a major break from long-standing American diplomatic practice toward Taiwan and China.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding Air Force One, Trump responded affirmatively when asked whether he would contact Lai ahead of deciding on a major arms package for Taiwan that had already been approved by Congress.
“I’ll speak to him,” Trump said. “I speak to everybody. We have that situation very well in hand… we’ll work on that Taiwan problem.”
If such a conversation takes place, it would be unprecedented in the modern era of US-China relations. American and Taiwanese presidents have not held direct talks since 1979, when Washington formally shifted diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing under the “One China” policy.
Under that framework, the United States acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, though it has never formally recognized Chinese sovereignty over the island. At the same time, US law requires Washington to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons, and previous American commitments specify that the US does not consult Beijing regarding arms sales to Taipei.
