Donald Trump irks China for speaking with Taiwan President, a first in 40 years

US president-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan president Tsai Ying-wen (left) had a phone conversation which shattered almost 40 years of diplomatic convention.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, the first such contact between the two sides in nearly four decades, but China dismissed the call as a "petty action" by the self-ruled island it claims as its own.

The 10-minute telephone call with Taiwan's leadership was the first by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of "one China".