Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has said he would welcome direct talks with US President Donald Trump, after Trump publicly stated for a second time this week that he was prepared to speak with Taiwan’s leader amid discussions over a major new American arms package for the island.
A direct conversation between the two presidents would mark a major break with diplomatic practice that has remained in place since 1979, when Washington formally switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing under the “One China” policy. Since then, no sitting US president and Taiwanese president have held direct official talks.
Speaking to reporters, Trump made clear that his earlier remarks following last week’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping were intentional. “I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump said, adding that he had “a great meeting” with Xi during his visit to Beijing. He also referred to Taiwan as “the Taiwan problem” and said: “We’ll work on that.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry responded on Thursday by emphasizing that Lai remains committed to stability in the Taiwan Strait. According to the ministry, the president would be “happy to discuss these matters with President Trump.” Taipei also stressed that Taiwan seeks to preserve the current status quo and accused Beijing of undermining regional stability. “China is the disruptor of peace and stability,” the ministry said in its statement.
