Taiwan says the call between US and Chinese leaders will help stabilise regional security amid heightened Chinese military pressure.
TAIPEI: Taiwan has welcomed a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said the dialogue would help “stabilise” the regional security situation.
Chen made the remarks in an exclusive interview with AFP on Thursday. His comments followed Chinese state media reports detailing the leaders’ conversation.
Xi reportedly called for “mutual respect” in strengthening US-China relations during the call. The Chinese leader also issued a warning about Washington selling weapons to Taiwan.
President Trump described the conversation as “excellent” in a post on his Truth Social platform. He stated that relations between Washington and Beijing were “extremely good”.
“We don’t worry too much about this whole telephone communication,” Chen told AFP. “In fact, we believe that it will contribute to stabilise the situation, especially given the fact that China keeps on escalating the tension in the Taiwan Strait and this whole region.”
The Taiwanese official framed the high-level contact as a positive development. “I think we welcome the kind of effort to stabilise the… security situation in this region,” he said.
Taipei’s response comes amid ongoing Chinese military pressure directed at the self-ruled island. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve unification.
