No country can be exception to One China principle: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has lambasted US President-elect Donald Trump’s recent remarks concerning Washington’s possible backtrack on the so-called One China policy, stating that the principle forms the basis for mutual ties and no country can be an exception to it.

China’s Foreign Ministry stated late on Thursday that Wang told his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault that the Taiwan issue concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The One-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for other countries to develop their relations with China and that when it comes to this vital issue of right or wrong, no country can be an exception,” the statement pointed out.

Trump drew Chinese authorities’ ire on December 11, when he told Fox News that he did not feel “bound” by the One China policy unless Washington made “a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.”

The One China policy refers to the recognition by other countries of Chinese sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. The US adopted the policy in 1979, and has since been maintaining only unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Earlier this month, Trump received a phone call from Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, gravely breaching the diplomatic protocol and enraging Beijing officials.

On Wednesday, a top Chinese official warned that any alteration in the United States’ adherence to the policy would harm bilateral ties between Beijing and Washington.

“If this basis is interfered with or damaged, then the healthy, stable development of China-US relations is out of the question, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait will be seriously impacted,” spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office An Fengshan said.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang stressed that non-commitment to the One China principle could prompt China to sever cooperation with the US in major spheres.

If the principle is “compromised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of China-US relations as well as bilateral cooperation in major fields would be out of the question,” Geng said.

He highlighted that Beijing considers Taiwan a “core interest” that affects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that adherence to the One China policy is the “political bedrock” for relations with the US.