Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te speaks throughout a press convention
| Photograph Credit score: AP
Taiwan’s ties with the US are “rock strong,” the island’s president mentioned on Thursday (February 5, 2026), hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping spoke on the telephone about matters that included the self-ruled island’s future.
“The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock strong, and all cooperation tasks will proceed uninterrupted,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te informed reporters throughout a go to to textile retailers in western Taiwan.
The feedback got here after Mr. Xi, in his first name with Mr. Trump since November, warned the U.S. President to be “prudent” about supplying arms to the self-ruled island, in keeping with a readout of their name supplied by China’s Overseas Ministry.
Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its personal territory, to be annexed by power if vital. Beijing prohibits all nations it has diplomatic relations with — together with the U.S. — from having formal ties with Taipei.
Nonetheless, whereas the U.S. would not formally acknowledge Taiwan as a rustic, it’s the island’s strongest casual backer and arms provider.
In December, the U.S. State Division introduced its largest-ever arms gross sales bundle to Taiwan, valued at greater than $11.1 billion and together with missiles, artillery programs and drones. The bundle is but to be permitted by Congress.
China reacted angrily to the proposed arms gross sales, conducting two days of army drills across the island in late December, for which it dispatched air, navy and missile items.
The arms gross sales are additionally going through pushback from Taiwan’s opposition KMT get together and a few of its inhabitants, together with a proposed enhance of defence spending to three.3% of Taiwan’s gross home product.
Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament has blocked Mr. Lai’s finances plan, together with a $40 billion particular defence finances, proposing as a substitute a a lot smaller defence spending plan.
Mr. Trump mentioned the decision with Mr. Xi was “glorious” and “thorough” in a put up late on Wednesday (February 4) on Fact Social.
He added that he’s trying ahead to a visit to China in April that would be the first of his present time period in workplace.
Mr. Trump additionally mentioned China is contemplating shopping for 20 million tons of U.S. soybeans within the present season, up from 12 million tons within the earlier season.
Printed – February 05, 2026 12:14 pm IST