Trump says he’ll talk to Xi Jinping first before engaging Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen

US President Donald Trump said he would talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping first, when asked if he would speak again to Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen.

“My problem is that I have established a very good personal relationship with President Xi,” Trump was quoted by Reuters as saying in an interview in the White House.

“I really feel that he is doing everything in his power to help us with a big situation. So I wouldn’t want to be causing difficulty right now for him.”

“So I would certainly want to speak to him first.”

“We have the opportunity to communicate more directly with the US government,” Tsai said. “We don’t exclude the opportunity to call President Trump himself, but it depends on the needs of the situation and the US government’s consideration of regional affairs.”