Trump Willing to Speak With Taiwan President as Taipei Welcomes Possible Call in Major Protocol Shift

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Washington / Taipei: US President Donald Trump has signaled that he is willing to speak with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, while Taipei has also said it would be happy to hold such a conversation together marking a potential major shift in long-standing diplomatic protocol between Washington and Beijing.

The possibility of direct communication between the two leaders is drawing global attention because it would break from decades of US practice. Taiwan has confirmed that President Lai would welcome a call with Trump, although no date has been set and discussions remain informal for now.

Such a conversation would be highly sensitive. The United States has not had official presidential-level contact with Taiwan since 1979, when it switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. Since then, Washington has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan while formally recognizing China under the ‘One China’ policy.

China is expected to strongly oppose any direct engagement between Trump and Lai, as Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory. Chinese officials regularly warn that official contact between US and Taiwanese leaders violates its sovereignty position and could raise tensions further.

Taiwan, however, has taken a positive stance, saying Lai would be open to dialogue with Trump. Officials have also indicated that any such exchange would likely highlight Taiwan’s concerns about increasing pressure from China and its commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The development comes at a delicate time in US-China relations, following recent high-level discussions between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where Taiwan was one of the key issues. The topic remains one of the most sensitive flashpoints between the two global powers.

While no call has been confirmed, the mutual openness from both sides has already sparked attention internationally due to its potential impact on US-China relations and regional stability in East Asia.