Trump: "Xi Jinping told me China will not invade Taiwan during my term"

US President Donald Trump (left) and Xi Jinping. Yonhap News.

US President Donald Trump stated on the 15th (local time) that Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would not invade Taiwan during Trump's presidency.

President Trump made these remarks during an interview with Fox News prior to his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Regarding the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, he said, "President Xi said, 'I will never do that while you are president'," and added, "So I said I appreciated that, and he said, 'But we and China are very patient.'"

He also compared the situation between China and Taiwan to the war in Ukraine, stating, "I don't think that will ever happen while I am there (a Chinese invasion of Taiwan)."

In response to a request for comment, the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond.

President Trump and President Xi had their first official phone call of Trump's second term in June.

President Trump had previously stated in April that President Xi had called him, but did not disclose the date of the call.

China considers Taiwan to be its territory and has vowed to "reunify" with Taiwan, by force if necessary. Taiwan strongly opposes China's sovereignty claims.

Yonhap News