Trump Says He Will Speak To Taiwanese Leader Despite China’s Warnings: ‘I Speak To Everybody’

President Donald Trump said he will speak with Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te despite China’s warnings on the matter.

“I’ll speak to him,” Trump said while speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force one at Joint Base Andrews. He was asked whether he would speak to Lai before deciding on whether to sign off on an arms sale to Taipei that has been approved by Congress.

“I speak to everybody. We have that situation very well in hand,” Trump added. “We’ll work on that Taiwan problem.”

Congress approved a $11.5 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, which spurred a critical response from China, which accused Washington of violating the “one-China principle.”

The remarks took place shortly after a visit to China in which President Xi Jinping warned Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could place the U.S.-China relationship in “great jeopardy” and lead to “clashes and even conflicts.”

Taiwan remains the most sensitive issue in relations between Washington and Beijing, with China viewing the self-governed island as part of its territory while the United States continues military and political support for Taipei.

Taiwan’s government said it saw “nothing surprising” in the summit discussions and remained in close communication with Washington.

The US does not formally recognize Taiwan and reiterates a ‘one China’ policy while maintaining unofficial ties with Taipei.

Trump also had earlier dodged a query on whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. A 1979 act facilitates the transfer of weapons to “enable Taiwan to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also addressed the issue in an interview with NBC News’ Tom Llamas. “U.S. policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today, and as of the meeting that we had here today, it was raised. They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics. We know where they stand, and I think they know where we stand,” he said during the visit.

Asked if he believes China wants to invade Taiwan, he said: “I think China’s preference is probably to have Taiwan willingly, voluntarily join them in a perfect world. What they would want is some vote or a referendum in Taiwan that agrees to fold in. I think that’s what they would prefer.”