President Trump stated that a potential U.S. attack on Venezuela would be a “special situation” and could not be used by China as a precedent to attack Taiwan, because the island does not pose a threat to China.

These remarks were made during Trump’s discussion with The New York Times about what Chinese President Xi Jinping might infer from a U.S. military campaign in Venezuela.

The U.S. president argued that the two situations are not comparable. According to him, Taiwan does not represent a danger to China in the way he has previously claimed that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro poses a threat to the United States.

Trump also reiterated his view that President Xi would not take action against Taiwan during his presidency. “He might do it after the United States has a different president, but I don’t think he would do it while I’m in office,” Trump said.

According to Reuters, a strategic document released last year by the Trump administration stated that the U.S. objective is to prevent the risk of conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by strengthening U.S. military capabilities together with those of its allies.