Taiwan-u.s. Ties Are 'rock Solid,' Its President Says, After Xi Warns Trump On Arms Sales

HONG KONG — Taiwan’s president said its relations pinch nan United States are “rock solid” connected Thursday, aft Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed his country’s territorial claims to nan land successful a telephone pinch President Donald Trump.

According to a Chinese readout from nan wide-ranging telephone connected Wednesday, Xi besides warned Trump complete U.S. arms income to Taiwan, suggesting that nan self-governing populist could go a much salient rumor successful U.S.-China relations aft spending months successful nan background.

Like astir countries, nan U.S. has nary general negotiated relations pinch Taiwan, which Beijing has vowed to bring nether its power by unit if necessary. But nan U.S. is Taiwan’s astir important world backer and is legally bound to proviso it pinch protect weapons.

“Taiwan–U.S. relations are rock-solid and our various practice projects will proceed without change,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters, adding that U.S. commitments to Taiwan had not changed.

Though agelong a root of clash successful U.S.-China relations, Taiwan has not been precocious connected nan schedule since Trump returned to agency arsenic nan world’s 2 biggest economies engaged successful a waste and acquisition war.

The Trump-Xi telephone suggests those days “are possibly over,” said Lev Nachman, a professor of governmental subject astatine National Taiwan University.

Taiwan is now apt to beryllium a cardinal taxable of chat erstwhile Trump visits Xi successful China this April, he said.

“I deliberation Taiwan needs to beryllium prepared,” said Nachman, who is based successful Taipei. “There’s going to beryllium much connection and rhetoric connected Taiwan coming from some nan U.S. and China successful 2026.”

In December, nan U.S. announced its largest-ever arms waste package to Taiwan, pinch a worth of much than $11.1 billion. China opposes specified sales, and Xi told Trump connected Wednesday that nan U.S. must grip them pinch “prudence.”

According to a Chinese authorities readout of nan call, Xi emphasized that Taiwan is nan astir important rumor successful U.S.-China relations, and that China “will ne'er let Taiwan to beryllium separated.”

Trump said successful a societal media station that he had an “excellent” telephone pinch Xi that was “long and thorough.” He said they discussed trade, Taiwan, nan Russia-Ukraine war, nan business successful Iran, and Chinese purchases of U.S. oil, state and cultivation products, among different issues, “all very positive.”

“The narration pinch China, and my individual narration pinch President Xi, is an highly bully one, and we some recognize really important it is to support it that way,” Trump said.

President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping astatine nan Gimhae Air Base, successful Busan, South Korea, successful Oct. 2025.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images

It was nan first nationalist interaction betwixt Trump and Xi since their past telephone telephone successful precocious November. Trump did not mention Taiwan successful his explanation of nan November call.

The 2 leaders besides held an in-person meeting past October connected nan sidelines of a location acme successful South Korea, wherever they agreed to a one-year waste and acquisition truce. Trump told reporters aft that gathering that Taiwan “never came up” and “was not discussed.”

Even if nan attraction of U.S.-China relations is shifting, that doesn’t mean that Taiwan, nan main shaper of precocious semiconductor chips that are integral to modern life, needs to beryllium “in panic mode,” Nachman said.

“I deliberation Trump is keenly alert of really important Taiwan is to nan United States’ existent economical growth, and I don’t deliberation he would do thing to put that successful jeopardy,” he said.

It’s besides encouraging that Trump and Xi are having “open communication” astir Taiwan, Nachman said.

“At nan very least, this should hopefully minimize misunderstandings and misinterpretations that hap from from a deficiency of speaking to each other,” he said.