Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen says the partnership with the United States will continue to grow, no matter who becomes the next president following an election in January.

Tsai spoke during a reception in Taipei hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan on Thursday. She has less than one year left in her second four-year presidential term.

Tsai thanked the US and its people for their support, saying it "has helped build the confidence of the Taiwanese people."

Tsai stressed that a "confident Taiwan is essential to regional peace." She said Taiwan and the US make the region and the world better through their "strong partnership."

Tsai said the two sides have "done quite a lot together" in the past seven years, and "the results have been remarkable."

The event's participants included three major candidates to become the next president, indicating the importance of building relations with the US to boost their chances of winning.

The three were Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih of the largest opposition Kuomintang, and former Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je of the opposition Taiwan People's Party.