Obama says Trump should deal cautiously with Taiwan, Chinese mainland

US President Barack Obama said on Friday that it was fine for President-elect Donald Trump to take another look at the United States' one-China policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a change in US diplomatic policy would lead to consequences from China.

He said overall it is good that “all of our foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes” but warned that the US relationship with China is one that should be approached carefully and methodically.

"For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket," Obama told the final news conference of his presidency. "The idea of one China is at the heart of their conception as a nation and so if you’re going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are because the Chinese won’t treat that like they treat some issues,” Obama said.

He also noted that the current status quo has kept the peace and enabled Taiwan to develop as an entity that has its own way of doing things and has helped it to become a successful economy.

Obama said Trump’s protocol-breaking phone call with Taiwan’s leader could elicit a significant response from the Chinese mainland, given the issue’s importance to Beijing.