Taiwan-US ties are ‘rock solid,’ the island’s president says after Trump-Xi call

Taiwan’s ties with the United States are “rock solid,” the island’s president said Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone, including about the self-ruled island’s future. “The Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, and all cooperation projects will continue uninterrupted,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said. The comments came after Xi, in his first call with Trump since November, warned the U.S. president to be “prudent” when supplying arms to the self-ruled island, according to a readout of their call provided by China’s Foreign Ministry. In December, the U.S. State Department announced its largest-ever arms sales package to Taiwan, valued at more than $11.1 billion and including missiles, artillery systems and drones.