Asia

China's FM Expresses Concern Over US Stance on Taiwan at Meeting With Pompeo

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Beijing is concerned over the United States' recent decisions regarding its contacts and partnership with Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at his Thursday meeting with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo.
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"During the talks, I confirmed the fundamental position of China's government on the Taiwan issue, expressing deep concern about the actions of the United States," Wang Yi said at a joint press conference following the talks.

The Chinese foreign minister also urged the United States to respect the "one China" principle, and stop any official contacts and military ties with Taiwan.

The statement came a few days after the United States opened a new office of the American Institute in Taiwan, an organization managing US-Taiwanese relations that functions as a de facto embassy. The move sparked strong objections from Beijing.

In March, US President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which now allows US officials to travel to the island and meet their Taiwanese counterparts.

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Beijing Warns US on ‘One China’ Policy Over New American ‘Embassy’ in Taiwan
Official relations between central Chinese authorities and Taiwan stopped in 1949 when the Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taipei after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party, establishing the Republic of China on the island. Informal contacts resumed in the 1980s.

Beijing does not recognize Taiwanese independence and claims the island is part of China. Taiwan similarly does not recognize the central government in Beijing.

The United States did not recognize Taiwan as an independent state but continued to maintain unofficial relations via the American Institute in Taiwan. The 1979 US-China Joint Communique switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing as the sole legal government of China.

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