Taiwan thanks US for its support ahead of Trump — Xi summit

TAIPEI, Sept 24 (Reuters) — Taiwan's government on Thursday thanked the US for its support and said it was maintaining communications ahead of a summit in Washington between President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and reiterated on Wednesday that the topic was a "red line" that the US must not cross. The US is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Xi is expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms ​sales altogether during his visit to Washington, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. Xi arrived in Washington on Wednesday ahead of the summit on Thursday. Speaking to reporters at a regular news conference, Taiwan cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee said the government has been continuously monitoring developments around the Trump-Xi meeting. "Regarding all efforts conducive to stabilising the regional situation and managing the risks that authoritarian expansion might bring, we view them positively and continue to cooperate with the US at various levels," she said. "In fact, we continue to maintain close contact with the US to stay in