Taiwan’s President Lai says he would be happy to speak with Donald Trump

Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te has said he would be “happy” to talk to United States President Donald Trump – a conversation that would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and risk angering China.

Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would speak to Lai, as the White House weighed a massive arms package sale to the democratic island. It was the second time since a summit in Beijing last week that Trump has said he would call the Taiwanese leader.

US and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition ⁠to Beijing from Taipei in 1979. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

On Wednesday, Trump reiterated he would speak to Lai, dispelling initial speculation that his mention of Lai after his Beijing summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping was a verbal slip.

President Lai said on Thursday that Taiwan was “committed to maintaining the stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait” and that “China is the disruptor of peace and stability”, the island’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Lai would be “happy to discuss these matters with President Trump”, the statement said.