Trump to speak with Taiwan's president in a new challenge for US-China relations

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would speak ​with Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, an unprecedented move for a U.S. leader that could roil U.S. relations ‌with China, Reuters reported.

U.S. and Taiwanese presidents have not spoken directly since Washington shifted diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979.

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take control of the democratically governed island. It has been angered by longstanding U.S. military support for Taiwan to ​deter Chinese military action.

"I'll speak to him," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding ​Air Force One when asked about Lai. "I speak to everybody ... We'll work on that, the Taiwan ⁠problem."

It's the second time in a week Trump has said he intends to speak to Lai, dispelling initial speculation ​that his first mention of it after meeting China's leader Xi Jinping last week was a verbal slip.

The White House did ​not immediately respond to a request for comment on when such a call might happen or what would be discussed. China's embassy in Washington also did not respond immediately.