Beijing calls on Washington to avoid damaging Sino-US ties over Taiwan

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang

Beijing has lodged an official complaint with Washington over the passage of a bill that would expand military ties between the United States and Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Monday expressed his country’s opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) recently passed by the US House of Representatives, saying the measure went seriously against the "One China" principle and was interference in China's internal affairs.

"China firmly opposes any forms of official exchange and military contact between the US and Taiwan," Lu told reporters at a regular press briefing, adding that Beijing had made "stern representations" to Washington over the "negative content" of the bill.

The NDAA, passed on Friday, contains a section that calls on the US to expand its defense spending in Taiwan and to provide Taipei with increased military training.

"We urge the United States to fully recognize the serious harmfulness of the relevant clauses in the act, and not allow them into law, and not turn back the wheel of history to avoid damaging the broad picture of Sino-US cooperation," the Chinese official noted.

The bill will move to the US Senate to be signed by the president before becoming law.

This photo taken on May 25, 2017, shows armed Taiwanese soldiers riding on motorcycles next to a US-made CH-47 helicopter during a military drill on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait. (By AFP)

Beijing has long objected to any US military assistance to the self-governing island.

The United States is the sole arms supplier to Taiwan, which China regards as a rebel province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it back under its control.

The United States angered China last month over its approval of $1.3 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan, with Beijing calling on Washington to immediately revoke its "wrong decision" to strike the deal.

Beijing says it expects other countries to adhere to the policy of “One China.”

The “One China” policy refers to the policy or the diplomatic acknowledgement that there is only one state called China, despite the existence of two governments – one in China and another in the island of Taiwan.   

Under the policy, the United States recognizes and has formal ties with the government in Beijing rather than with Taiwan

US President Donald Trump has often questioned America’s commitment to the “One China” policy in the China-Taiwan row.

China has considered Taiwan a breakaway province since a government was established there in 1949. Beijing believes the island will be reunified with the mainland one day.