Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would speak to Taiwan\u2019s President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move for a US leader that could roil US relations with China.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll speak to him,\u201d the US president told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One when asked about Lai. \u201cI speak to everybody \u2026 We\u2019ll work on that, the Taiwan<\/a> problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to Trump\u2019s comments on Thursday morning, Taiwan\u2019s foreign ministry said Lai would be happy to speak to the US leader, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n US and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979. However, as president-elect in late 2016, Trump broke decades of diplomatic precedent when he spoke to then-Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen<\/a>.<\/p>\n The political fallout from that call saw China\u2019s government lodge a complaint with the US government<\/a>, while Trump\u2019s transition team played down the significance of the conversation.<\/p>\n Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take control of the democratically governed island. It has been angered by longstanding US military support for Taiwan<\/a> to deter Chinese military action.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments was the second time in a week he said he intends to speak to Lai, dispelling initial speculation that his first mention of it after meeting China\u2019s leader Xi Jinping last week<\/a> was a verbal slip.<\/p>\n A call between the leaders had not yet been scheduled, according to a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when such a call might happen or what would be discussed. China\u2019s embassy in Washington also did not respond immediately.<\/p>\n Trump administration officials have noted that Trump has approved the sale of more weapons to Taiwan than any other US president, but he has also described future weapons sales as a \u201cvery good negotiating chip.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly touted his relationship with Xi as \u201camazing\u201d. After last week\u2019s trip to Beijing<\/a>, Trump said he has not decided whether to proceed with a major weapons sale worth up to $14bn to Taiwan, adding to uncertainty about US support for the island.<\/p>\n In an attempt to pressure Trump, Beijing is now reportedly withholding approval for a potential summer visit to China by the Pentagon\u2019s undersecretary of defence for policy, Elbridge Colby.<\/p>\n Beijing has signalled to Washington that it cannot approve Colby\u2019s trip until Trump decides on how he will proceed with the weapons sale, according to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n Any direct US-Taiwan conversation would ordinarily anger China<\/a>, which sees the island as its own territory.<\/p>\n