Taiwan says will never be 'sacrificed or traded away,' after Trump urged sides to cool down

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that the island "will never be sacrificed or traded away" after US President Donald Trump said that he wants Taiwan and China to "cool down" amid tensions between the two sides.

"I'm not looking to have someone go independent, and we have to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I want Taiwan to cool down; I want China to cool down," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

Lai said in a post on the US social media platform Facebook on Sunday that "maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait has long been a broad consensus and shared interest of Taiwan, the United States and all democratic countries around the world," reported Focus Taiwan.

Trump visited Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, during which he met Xi several times. The two leaders discussed a broad range of issues, including trade and the US-Israeli war against Iran.

"Taiwan's sovereignty must not be infringed upon or annexed and Taiwan's future should be decided by its people," he said, adding that these points of consensus "are also the status quo we seek to defend, and there is no so-called 'Taiwan independence issue.'"

"We thank President Trump for his continued support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait since his first term, including through the continued increase in the scale and value of arms sales to Taiwan, which have helped Taiwan strengthen its self-defense capabilities," he said.

Continued US arms sales to Taiwan and deepened Taiwan-US security cooperation are "necessary and key elements in maintaining regional peace and stability," Lai added.

As Taiwan’s top arms supplier, the US approved $11 billion in arms sales last year, prompting protests from Beijing.

Beijing has not yet issued a statement in response to Taiwanese leader's remarks.

China considers Taiwan its "breakaway province," while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.