US Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Sunday downplayed the significance of Donald Trump's phone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, describing the phone call as a "mere courtesy" call.

The 10-minute phone call, which immediately prompted diplomatic protest from China, was the first publicly reported phone call between the US president and Taiwanese leader ever since Washington officially recognized the 'One China' policy in 1979.

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"This was a courtesy call. The democratically elected president of Taiwan called to congratulate the president-elect," Pence said on NBC news channel.

The vice president-elect reminded Chinese leadership that Trump and President Xi had a similar phone conversation two weeks back.   

"I think I would just say to our counterparts in China that this was a moment of courtesy. The president-elect talked to President Xi two weeks ago in the same manner. It was not a discussion about policy," he added.

Pence clarified that he is not aware whether Trump's transition team has contacted Chinese leadership since Friday's call. He also insisted that there is less likelihood that Trump would try to assuage Chinese leadership in the coming weeks in a bid to ease the tension.

There have been a lot of speculations about the Sino-US relationship since Trump's unexpected victory in the US presidential election. Trump had targeted China with barrage of tirades, calling the country "job thief" and "currency manipulator." He claimed that China would eventually behave under his presidency.        

China Lodges Diplomatic Protest    

Meanwhile, Chinese leadership could hardly wait to lodge diplomatic protest following Friday's unprecedented phone call. Although Beijing blamed Taiwan for last Friday's conversation, it called on the US to be more sensitive on the issue.

In a statement released on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said that it has urged the US government to be careful in handling the Taiwan issue to avoid any unnecessary disturbances in diplomatic ties. It also reiterated that 'One China' principle is the bed rock of the China-US relationship.

China considers Taiwan as a wayward province that is waiting for unification. The island nation had separated from Mainland China in 1949, following a prolong civil war. Since then, Taiwan has staked its claim as a self-ruled province and has relied on US support to counter China's alleged aggression. 

TagsMike Pence, china, donald trump, Donald Trump China, Taiwan, China and Taiwan