White House seeks to reassure China after Donald Trump-Taiwan leader call

Washington: The White House said on Monday it had sought to reassure China after President-elect Donald Trump's much publicised phone call with Taiwan's leader last week, which the Obama administration warned could undermine progress in relations with Beijing.

The outgoing Obama administration said that it has been in contact with the Chinese officials to reiterate its continued support to the long-standing 'one-China' policy.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said senior National Security Council officials spoke twice with Chinese officials over the weekend to reassure them of Washington`s commitment to the "One China" policy and to "reiterate and clarify the continued commitment of the United States to our longstanding China policy."

The policy has been in place for 40 years and is focused on promoting and preserving peace and stability in the strait separating China and Taiwan, which is in U.S. interests, Earnest said. 

"If the president-elect's team has a different aim, I'll leave it to them to describe," he said.

"The Chinese government in Beijing placed an enormous priority on this situation, and it’s a sensitive matter. Some of the progress that we have made in our relationship with China could be undermined by this issue flaring up," he said.

The telephonic conversation between Trump and Tsai Ing-wen was the first by a US president-elect or president with a Taiwanese leader in last three decades since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 1979.

It prompted a diplomatic protest from China which the outgoing Obama administration warned could undermine progress in country's relations with Beijing, which has been carefully built up over decades by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Despite tensions over matters ranging from trade to China's pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea, the Obama administration has highlighted cooperation on global issues, such as climate change and Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs.