Updated at 7 p.m. with additional information on the call.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on the phone Friday, a striking move that risks opening up a major diplomatic dispute with China before Trump has even taken office.

The call from the U.S. president-elect to the leader of Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing views as a breakaway province, is believed to be the first such interaction since diplomatic relations between the two were cut in 1979.

The Trump transition team confirmed the call, first revealed by the Financial Times, in a statement Friday afternoon, saying that Tsai "offered her congratulations" for Trump's victory in the presidential election.

"During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties [existing] between Taiwan and the United States," the release said. "President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming president of Taiwan earlier this year."

The U.S. has maintained a “one-China policy” since the meeting between President Richard Nixon and Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1972. President Jimmy Carter formally recognized Beijing as the sole government of China in 1978, and the U.S. Embassy in Taipei closed the following year.

The president-elect clarified in a tweet Friday evening that the Taiwanese president had called him. According to a report in the Taipei Times, a staffer on Trump's transition team arranged the call and the president-elect agreed to it after aides briefed him on issues regarding Taiwan.

The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016

He went on to defend the call by noting that the U.S. sells military equipment to Taiwan despite the diplomatic restraints.

Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016

Trump regularly lambasted American policies toward China on the campaign trail, particularly on trade.

"We can't continue to allow China to rape our country," Trump said during a May 2016 campaign rally in Indiana.

The call earned quick rebukes from Trump's political rivals. Jessica Mackler, the president of liberal group American Bridge, said in a written statement that the development proves Trump is "dangerously incapable of keeping the United States safe."

"Everything we feared about Donald Trump wreaking havoc is coming true," Mackler said.

Mackler also noted recent reports that Trump was considering constructing a series of luxury hotels in Taoyoun, a city in northwest Taiwan, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest with the president-elect's business.

Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat on the Senate foreign affairs committee, chided Trump for his actions in a series of tweets Friday evening, warning of the potential consequences on the world stage.

(2) What has happened in the last 48 hours is not a shift. These are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan. That's how wars start. — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 2, 2016

But Rep. Pete King, R-New York, a longtime Trump supporter and former chairman of the House Homeland Security committee, praised the president-elect for the untraditional move.

Plaudits to President-elect Trump for his historic phone call to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. Strong message to China. New day in Asia. — Rep. Pete King (@RepPeteKing) December 3, 2016

Earlier Friday, China expressed concerns that an annual U.S. defense spending bill includes suggestions that the country should plan to conduct high-level military exchanges with Taiwan.

China has “serious concerns” about the legislation, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, urging the U.S. to “scrupulously abide” by traditional policy or risk damaging relations.

"China firmly opposes the United States and Taiwan carrying out any form of official contact or military exchange," Geng told reporters at a briefing, hours before the reports of Trump’s call to the Taiwanese president.

Trump also invited Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, to the White House next year in a phone call between the two Friday.

Duterte has earned a reputation as a volatile, outspoken leader since taking office five months ago. He has launched an unprecedented war on drugs that local police estimate has led to the deaths of more than 3,500 people.

Facing concerns from President Barack Obama about human rights abuses, Duterte referred to the American leader as a “son of a whore” and told him to “go to hell.”