New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Monday vowed to defend the island's democracy, as he called on China to end its military intimidation of the self-ruled island.

In his inauguration speech, Lai directly addressed the threat of war following years of growing pressure from China to bring democratic Taiwan under mainland rule.

Beijing, which has in the past branded Lai as a "dangerous separatist", responded hours later saying that "Taiwan independence is a dead end".

Taiwan President said a "glorious era of Taiwan's democracy had arrived, as he thanked citizens for "refusing to be swayed by external forces, for resolutely defending democracy".

Lai has made repeated overtures to resume high-level communications with China, which Beijing severed in 2016 when his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen took power.

Having previously described himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence", Lai has moderated his rhetoric on the issue in recent years.

On Monday, he said his government would "neither yield nor provoke, and maintain the status quo” of a balance that preserves Taiwan's sovereignty while not declaring formal independence.

He therefore urged Beijing to "share with Taiwan the global responsibility of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and would ensure the world is free from the fear of war".