BEIJING/TAIPEI >> China on Monday urged the United States to “correct its mistakes” after the U.S. State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

China has accused Taiwan of trying to sell off its thriving semiconductor industry to the United States, claiming that Taipei is essentially handing over control of

TAIPEI >> There is no need for one country to control the semiconductor industry, which is complex and needs a division of labour, Taiwan’s top technology official said on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticised the island’s chip dominance.

A longstanding U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan has—under Trump—begun to breed anxious uncertainty.

The State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

As President Trump turns toward Russia, Taiwan grapples with its reliance on U.S. support in the face of conflict with China.

The State Department told local media the revision was a routine update, not a policy change. But it provoked anger from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory.

The U.S. State Department's Taiwan page last week removed a previous reference to not supporting Taiwan's independence.

China said on Wednesday that Taiwan was seeking to give away the island's semiconductor industry to the United States as a "souvenir" and leverage it to seek political support from Washington.

China has accused Taiwan of trying to sell off its thriving semiconductor industry to the United States, claiming that Taipei is essentially handing over control of

Trump’s transactional style is unnerving many in Taiwan, who fear it will encourage Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his ambitions to take control of the island.

Taiwan sent forces on Wednesday in response to China's "live-fire" drills off the self-ruled island, Taipei's defence ministry said, condemning the exercises as dangerous.