ISTANBUL

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged Washington to handle arms sales to Taiwan with "prudence," saying that Beijing will not allow the island to be "separated" from China.

During a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Xi expressed his desire to "steer the giant ship of China-US relations steadily forward through winds and storms" jointly with Trump and to "accomplish more big things and good things," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on the US social media company X.

"We should make progress step by step to build mutual trust, find the right way to get along, and make 2026 a year where our two major countries advance toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation," he said.

If both sides work in the same direction, guided by "equality, respect, and mutual benefit," solutions can be found to address each other’s concerns, Xi said.

Beijing and Washington should follow "the common understandings we have reached, enhance dialogue and communication, manage differences properly, and expand practical cooperation," he added.

During the call, Xi also stressed Taiwan as the "most important issue in China-US relations."

"China must safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow Taiwan to be separated (from China)," he said.

Xi urged Washington to "handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence."

The US recently approved a one-time record sale of arms worth over $11 billion to Taipei.

The first phone call between the two leaders followed Xi’s virtual conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.

While ties between China and Russia have grown in recent years, with a trade volume around $200 billion last year, Beijing and Washington have seen ties stabilize after Xi and Trump met late last year in South Korea.