U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te" shortly after the summit between China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
According to Reuters on the 20th (local time), Trump met with reporters at the White House that day and, when asked whether he would talk with President Lai regarding the issue of U.S. arms exports to Taiwan, said, "I talk to everyone. We will deal with that issue, the Taiwan issue."
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and China, it would be unprecedented for a sitting U.S. president to speak directly with a sitting Taiwan president. The United States effectively supports Taiwan, but it severed ties with Taiwan in 1979 when it established diplomatic relations with China.
If the two leaders actually speak, China is highly likely to push back. In December 2016, before his first administration took office, President-elect Trump spoke with then–Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, and China strongly protested, saying it had lodged a stern complaint with the United States.
Trump's latest remark that he would speak with President Lai is seen as pressure on Xi. Earlier, on the 14th, he met Xi and said U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip.
Regarding the summit between Xi and Putin, Trump said, "That's a good thing, and I get along well with both of them." He added that Xi had told him about his plan to meet with Putin, and said he did not know whether China's welcome event for Putin was as good as his own welcome event.