Trump warns Taiwan can’t declare independence from China after Xi Jinping summit as island issues stern response

DONALD Trump has warned Taiwan not to declare independence after his crunch talks with Xi Jinping at his Beijing summit.

The US president revealed Xi asked him directly if America would intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion to which he refused to answer.

Brewing tensions between China and the independent island of Taiwan have previously sparked fears that an imminent conflict could be the beginning of World War Three.

Today, Trump told Fox News that he’s “not looking to have somebody go independent” and risk causing a war in which the US has to pick a side.

He said: “We’re supposed to travel 9,500 miles (15,289km) to fight a war. I’m not looking for that. I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down.

“We’re not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China‘s going to be okay with that.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry issued a stern response shortly after.

They announced: “Taiwan is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China.”

Taiwan was a major talking point when Xi welcomed Trump to Beijing earlier this week.

The pair talked a lot about the fate of the island during his high-stakes diplomatic summit, Washington said.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he left China, Trump said he doesn’t believe Xi would want to start a conflict over the issue.

China has been plotting an aggressive land grab by ramping up military exercises in the South China Sea surrounding Taiwan.

Beijing believes it holds genuine claims over the territory.

But the US remains Taiwan’s most important international backer and their weapons supplier, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.

Trump said he would “make a determination over a fairly short period” on whether to continue US-sanctioned arms sales to Taiwan.

But Taiwan’s Presidential Office said today they had received “multiple reaffirmations” from the US about their close relationship remaining intact for years to come.

“Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with the US under the firm commitments of the Taiwan Relations Act,” spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement.

Xi appeared keen to cause frictions in the US-Taiwan bond during Trump’s visit.

The US leader claimed Xi even formally questioned him over how protective the US would be over Taiwan.

“That question was asked to me today by President Xi. I said, I don’t talk about that,” Trump explained.

“There’s only one person that knows that, and it is me.”

Taipei fired a stark warning to Beijing last year, vowing to ready itself for all-out war within two years amid China’s intimidation.

In November, President Lai Ching-te announced that he will be accelerating defence spending by £30.6billion to have a “high level” of joint combat readiness by 2027.

Lai accused Xi Jinping of “speeding up military preparations to take Taiwan by force” as tensions reached a boiling point.

Ahead of the crunch summit Kerry Brown, former First Secretary at the British Embassy in Beijing told The Sun the issue of Taiwan will be one of the biggest issues between the two nations.

He said: “China will not take US meddling in Taiwan sitting down.

“It will do what it can to defend its interests. I think China has been asserting its position extremely strongly that this is not an issue to play around with.”