Relations with US 'rock solid,' Taiwan president says after Trump-Xi call

TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - ⁠Relations between ⁠Taiwan ‍and the U.S. are "rock-solid" and cooperation programmes will continue and not change, Taiwan ‍President Lai Ching-te said on Thursday after Chinese ​President Xi Jinping discussed the democratically governed island with ​President Donald Trump.

In the Wednesday call, Xi told Trump that the U.S. should "carefully" handle arms sales to the island ​that Beijing views as its own territory.

Speaking to reporters in central Taiwan, Lai said Taiwan ​and the U.S. have strong channels of communication.

"Taiwan–U.S. relations are rock-solid; ‌all cooperation programmes will continue and will not change," Lai said, adding that the ​U.S. commitments to Taiwan also ⁠remain unchanged.

The fact that Taiwan is not part of the People's Republic ‌of China also remains unchanged, he added.

The U.S., like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan ‌but is the island's most important international backer and ‌is bound by law to provide it with the means to defend itself.

In December, the Trump administration announced $11.1 billion ‍in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever U.S. weapons package for the ⁠island.

China refuses to speak to Lai and calls him a "separatist." Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)

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