TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that China will not attack Taiwan while he is in office, rejecting comparisons between his recent Venezuelan operation and potential Chinese action against Taipei.

When asked by the New York Times whether his action in Venezuela might set a precedent for China to launch a decapitation strike on Taiwan, Trump replied, “No, because this was a real threat." Trump then said that China and Russia did not face a similar crisis of drugs or prisoner inflows across their borders. 

The NYT followed up by saying Xi might argue that Taiwan poses a threat to China and represents a separatist action. Trump replied, “It’s a source of pride for him. He considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing. But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that. I hope he doesn’t do that.”

When further pressed on whether his actions had set a precedent for other world leaders, such as Xi, Trump said, “He may do it after we have a different president, but I don’t think he’s going to do it with me as president.”