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Taiwan\u2019s ties with the United States are \u201crock solid,\u201d the island\u2019s president said Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone, including about the self-ruled island\u2019s future<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n TAIPEI, Taiwan — <\/span>Taiwan\u2019s ties with the United States are \u201crock solid,\u201d the island\u2019s president said Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone<\/a> about topics that included the self-ruled island\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Taiwan-U.S. relationship is rock solid, and all cooperation projects will continue uninterrupted,\u201d Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters during a visit to textile merchants in western Taiwan.<\/p>\n The comments came after Xi, in his first call with Trump since November, warned the U.S. president to be \u201cprudent\u201d about supplying arms to the self-ruled island, according to a readout of their call provided by China\u2019s Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n Taiwan is a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. Beijing prohibits all countries it has diplomatic relations with \u2014 including the U.S. \u2014 from having formal ties with Taipei. <\/p>\n Still, while the U.S. doesn\u2019t officially recognize Taiwan as a country, it is the island\u2019s strongest informal backer and arms supplier.<\/p>\n In December, the U.S. State Department announced its largest-ever arms sales package<\/a> to Taiwan, valued at more than $11.1 billion and including missiles, artillery systems and drones. The package is yet to be approved by Congress.<\/p>\n China reacted angrily to the proposed arms sales, conducting two days of military drills<\/a> around the island in late December, for which it dispatched air, navy and missile units.<\/p>\n The arms sales are also facing pushback from Taiwan\u2019s opposition KMT party and some of its population, along with a proposed increase of defense spending to 3.3% of Taiwan\u2019s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s opposition-controlled parliament has blocked Lai\u2019s budget plan, including a $40 billion special defense budget<\/a>, proposing instead a much smaller defense spending plan.<\/p>\n Trump said the call with Xi was \u201cexcellent\u201d and \u201cthorough\u201d in a post late Wednesday on Truth Social.<\/p>\n He added that he is looking forward to a trip to China in April that will be the first of his current term in office.<\/p>\n Trump also said China is considering buying 20 million tons of U.S. soybeans in the current season, up from 12 million tons in the previous season. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Video journalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n