US President Donald Trump has said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping gave him assurances that Beijing would take no action on Taiwan, as long as the Republican leader was in power.

In an extract from a CBS News interview first released on Sunday, Trump said the island, which Beijing regards as part of its territory, to be reunited by force if necessary, “never even came up as a subject” when the two leaders met last week.

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Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

“You’ll find out if it happens, and [Xi] understands the answer to that,” Trump said when asked by the interviewer whether he would order US forces to defend Taiwan.

“He never brought it up. People were a little surprised at that. He never brought it up because he understands it and he understands it very well.”

However, he declined to elaborate, noting that “I can’t give away my secrets … the other side knows”.

“But they understand what’s going to happen. And he has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president’, because they know the consequences,” he said.