BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday said China firmly opposed any official or military interactions between the United States and Taiwan under any pretext. We urged the United States to abide by the one-China policy and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and cautiously and properly handle the Taiwan issue, Zhao said, adding that China will, according to how the situation develops, make a legitimate and necessary response.
Zhao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on a reported visit of a U.S. senior official to the Taiwan region.
Agencies Add: A two-star Navy admiral overseeing U.S. military intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region has made an unannounced visit to Taiwan. Neither Taiwan nor the United States has officially confirmed the trip.
The Trump administration has ramped up support for Taiwan, including with new arms sales, alarming China, which views the democratic island as one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China “resolutely opposes” any form of exchanges between U.S. and Taiwanese officials or the two having military relations. China urges the United States to fully recognize the extreme sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, Zhao told a news briefing.
“The Chinese side will, according to how the situation develops, make a legitimate and necessary response,” he said, without elaborating.
China reacted with fury when U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar came to Taipei in August, followed by U.S. Undersecretary of State Keith Krach in September, sending warplanes near to the island each time.
Speaking during a visit to Manila, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien underscored the U.S. commitment to Taiwan, saying that as democracies they have a lot in common.
“I can’t imagine anything that will cause a greater backlash against China from the entire world if they attempted to use military force to coerce Taiwan,” he said. “The U.S. is with her friends in Taipei. We will continue to be there.”
In Beijing, Zhao also expressed displeasure with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on economic exchanges following a meeting between Taiwanese and U.S. officials in Washington.
China has already lodged “stern representations” with the United States, which should stop having these kinds of interactions with Taiwan, he added.
Meanwhile on Monday Zhao Lijian said China has opposes a potential move by the United States to declare that 89 Chinese aerospace and other companies have military ties, restricting them from buying a range of U.S. goods and technology.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, responding to a question based on a draft copy of the list, said the United States should stop stretching the concept of national security and oppressing foreign companies.
What the United States is doing severely violates the principle of market competition and international norms for trade and investment that the U.S. claims to uphold, he added.
Chinese companies have always operated in accordance with the law and strictly follow local laws and regulations when operating overseas, including in the United States, Zhao said.
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), which is spearheading Chinese efforts to compete with Boeing and Airbus, is on the list, as is Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and 10 of its related entities. The list is included in a draft rule that identifies Chinese and Russian companies the U.S. considers “military end users,” a designation that means U.S. suppliers must seek licenses to sell a broad swath of commercially available items to them.
According to the rule, applications for such licenses are more likely to be denied than granted.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
