Donald Trump’s administration has enraged China after hinting it may be in support of an independent Taiwan.

The US Department of State quietly deleted the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” from an online “factsheet”, contradicting a policy position held since Richard Nixon, the former president, first established diplomatic relations with Beijing in the 1970s.

The self-governed island, which split from mainland China in 1949, has always insisted it is an independent state.

But Beijing claims sovereignty over the territory – with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, consistently warning he will use force to “reunify” the island if necessary.

On Monday, China urged the US to “rectify its mistakes” over the website update, warning it sends “a seriously wrong message to Taiwan independence separatist forces”.

Guo Jiakun, a foreign ministry spokesman, said: “This is yet another example of the United States’ stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of ‘using Taiwan to suppress China’. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes.”