"China strongly protests and condemns this action", Zhao told a briefing, adding that the US should "withdraw" this proposal immediately.
He stressed that Washington should be following the "One China" policy, recalled the Three Joint Communiqués (in which the US acknowledged that "all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China"). Beijing will take all of the necessary and effective measures to protect the nation's sovereignty and ensure its security, Zhao added.
Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own democratically elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country with political and economic relations with several other nations.
Taiwanese troops conduct military drills in January 2021
© AP Photo / Chiang Ying-ying
While the US does not recognise the government in Taipei, Washington's ties with Taiwan have been on the rise over the past few years, with top American officials visiting the island and some reports suggesting that US forces were training the Taiwanese military. President Joe Biden even said that the US will defend Taiwan from Chinese forces.