U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview aired Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him Beijing would not launch a military move against Taiwan while Trump remains in office. “He told me, ‘I will never do it as long as you’re president,’” Trump said, adding that Xi also emphasized China’s “very patient” stance toward the self-ruled island. The remarks were broadcast as Trump traveled to Alaska for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Trump said the pledge followed his first confirmed call of his second term with Xi in June, though he did not specify when the assurance was given. Asked for comment, the Chinese Embassy in Washington called Taiwan the “most important and sensitive issue” in Sino-U.S. relations and urged Washington to adhere to the one-China principle and maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not renounced the use of force to achieve unification. Taiwan’s government has yet to issue an official response, but ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang Ting-yu wrote that the island must rely on strengthening its own defenses rather than on assurances from its adversary. The United States remains Taiwan’s main arms supplier despite lacking formal diplomatic ties.