The Chinese reminded President-elect Donald Trump Tuesday that Taiwan is a non-negotiable “core interest.”
China is furious over Trump’s recent attacks and moves that may upend decades of diplomatic practice regarding the separatist territory.
“As a veteran businessman who prides himself on his ability to make deals, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump should be well familiar with the phrase ‘deal-breaker,'” China’s Xinhua News Agency, a government mouthpiece, said Tuesday.
“Let’s try to make this issue crystal clear for the coming new administration of the United States: any deviation from the one-China policy will be a ‘deal-breaker.'”
“And just to make things even more clear, let’s reiterate the policy. There is only one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China,” the news outlet added.
Trump has repeatedly angered Beijing in recent weeks by undermining the “one China” policy, a key component of U.S.-China relations.
The president elect shocked China when he accepted a phone call on Dec. 2 from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, something no U.S. president or president-elect has done since diplomatic ties were cut in 1979.
Trump rattled China again Sunday by questioning the value of the “one China” policy.
“I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy,” Trump said Sunday, “but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.”
“The U.S. president-elect claims to fully understand the one-China policy, but the fact that he is so eager to play with fire shows he clearly does not,” Xinhua wrote.
“The one-China policy is the cornerstone for any country, including the United States, to engage with China diplomatically, and is simply non-negotiable: no exceptions.”
“The president-elect has vowed to make America great again and we wish him well in that regard, but we see no benefit for the United States if he unilaterally and single-handedly puts the world’s two largest economies on a collision course,” Xinhua further explained.
“Taiwan sits in the center of China’s core interests. It is difficult to overstate how serious an affront to Beijing it would be if the incoming U.S. administration recklessly shook the foundations of bilateral ties.”
“If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China’s core interests, ultimately he will lift a rock only to crush his own toes,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday in Switzerland.
The Global Times called Trump “ignorant like a child” and threatened to possibly arm U.S. enemies or militarily invade Taiwan in response to Trump.
“I don’t want China dictating to me,” Trump said Sunday.
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