Taiwan elects leader China calls 'troublemaker' in blow for Xi

• The ruling party's Lai Ching-te secured comfortable victory
• Result is setback for Beijing's aim to forge closer ties

Taiwan elected Lai Ching-te as president of the global chip hub at the center of US-China tensions, dealing a blow to Beijing which has branded him an "instigator of war."

Lai, of the Democratic Progressive Party, sealed victory in the island's tightest race in decades with 40.1% of the counted vote — the lowest winning percentage since 2000, another three-way race. The main opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih trailed in second place, with the Taiwan People's Party coming last in its first presidential campaign.

"Taiwan will continue to walk side by side with democracies around the world," Lai said, signaling that he would maintain close ties with Washington. He also pledged to keep peace across the Taiwan Strait.

His speech was broadcast simultaneously in English, as the world's only Chinese-speaking democracy marked the culmination of a race closely watched around the globe. Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's former envoy to the US and Lai's running mate, stood at his side as he delivered the remarks.

His victory will likely anger President Xi Jinping's government in Beijing, which has called him a "troublemaker" and "separatist" in the run up to the election. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and it is has vowed to reclaim the island someday. President Joe Biden has pledged to defend Taiwan in any invasion.

The reelection of the DPP for a record third straight term will test the recent stabilization of ties between Beijing and Washington, after their leaders held talks in California in November. Any renewal of tensions between the two superpowers raises the risk of a miscalculation in the Taiwan Strait spiraling into a conflict.

Biden will dispatch a bipartisan delegation of former senior officials to the island after the election, the Financial Times reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. That move is likely to elicit a response from Beijing, which opposes nations having official contacts with the government in Taipei.

While Lai also signaled he would cooperate with China his party is unlikely to be able to restart talks with Beijing, which have been suspended for the past eight years. The Communist Party demands agreement there is only one China in the world as a prerequisite for such dialogue, a red line for the DPP.

Taiwan's voters decision to back Lai, who favors close ties with Washington, highlights that their desire to keep China at arm's length outweighed mounting frustrations over everyday domestic issues, such as high property prices and slower-than-expected wage growth.

Taiwan's security officials have said they don't expect China to conduct large military exercises around the island immediately after the election but see Beijing ratcheting up pressure in other ways before the new president takes office in May.

The KMT's Hou congratulated Lai for his victory at a briefing earlier Saturday in Taipei, and apologized for disappointing his voters.

— With assistance from Cindy Wang, Betty Hou, Jennifer Creery, and Debby Wu