Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Washington needs to approach the issue of Taiwan "prudently," the ministry in Beijing said, as the pair held their first talks since Donald Trump took office.

US President Donald Trump said he would prefer not to have to impose tariffs on China, his latest dovish remark toward the world’s second-biggest economy even as he continues to threaten sweeping action.

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is an island separated from China by the Taiwan Strait. Mainland China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule and asserts that Taiwan is an integral part of its territory, though it has never governed the island.

Even though the changes Trump has introduced were largely expected, the start of his second term has also been filled with surprises and drastic turnarounds, presented through his half-hour long inaugural address,