Taipei: Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged US President Donald Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, putting the long dispute over the island at the centre of their latest talks in Washington.
Xi raised the issue during his meeting with Trump at the White House on Thursday, saying China's position on national reunification and territorial integrity was clear. Xi called on the United States to maintain what Beijing calls the correct position of opposing Taiwan independence and to handle the Taiwan issue with caution.
Taiwan's government responded on Friday by rejecting China's position and saying that the future of the island can only be decided by its people through democratic means.
Taiwan's government described Xi's comments as a distortion of the facts and said Taiwan's future should be decided by its people. The response came as the issue remained one of the most sensitive points in relations between Washington and Beijing.
Trump and Xi have sought to improve broader relations between the world's two largest economies, but major differences remain over Taiwan, trade, technology and other security issues.
Taiwan has governed itself since 1949, when the government of the Republic of China moved to the island after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communist forces that established the People's Republic of China on the mainland.
Taiwan's formal constitutional name remains the Republic of China. It has its own elected government, military, currency, passport and political system. It operates independently of the government in Beijing in its daily affairs.
China, however, claims Taiwan as part of its territory and says the island must eventually be brought under Chinese control. Beijing says it prefers peaceful reunification but has not renounced the use of force.
Taiwan rejects Beijing's sovereignty claim. President Lai Ching te and his administration maintain that Taiwan is a sovereign and self governing democracy and that its future should be decided by its people.
China describes Lai as a separatist and strongly objects to his government's position. Lai has previously described himself as a practical worker for Taiwan independence and has argued that Taiwan is already independent in practical terms.
The question of Taiwan's international status is complicated by the fact that most countries do not formally recognise Taiwan as a separate sovereign state. The United States ended formal diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.
At the same time, Washington maintains extensive unofficial relations with Taiwan and provides it with defensive weapons under US law. The Taiwan Relations Act requires the United States to make defensive articles and services available to Taiwan, while Washington does not formally recognise Taiwan as a separate diplomatic state.
The United States has also maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity over whether it would intervene militarily in a conflict over Taiwan.
The dispute also has an important connection to the United Nations. In 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which restored the rights of the People's Republic of China at the United Nations and recognised its representatives as the legitimate representatives of China.
The resolution itself does not mention Taiwan by name. China argues that the resolution confirms its position that Taiwan is part of China, while other governments and international actors have disputed that interpretation.
Taiwan's constitutional system is based on the Republic of China. Any major constitutional change would require a formal legal and political process, including approval by the legislature and a referendum.
Several US allies and partners have also recently stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposed unilateral changes to the status quo.
There has been no reported formal change in Taiwan's political status or in US diplomatic recognition policy following the meeting. Taiwan remains a major unresolved issue between Washington and Beijing as both governments seek greater stability in their wider relationship.