China summons US ambassador over Pelosi's Taiwan trip

BEIJING: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns late Tuesday night and lodged stern representations and strong protests over Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Noting that Pelosi risks universal condemnation to deliberately provoke and play with fire, Xie said that this is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, reported Xinhua.

It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations and seriously infringes on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Xie said, adding that it gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence."

"The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious. China will not sit idly by," Xie noted.

Xie said the US government must be held accountable. For a while, the US has said one thing and done another thing, constantly distorted and hollowed out the one-China principle.

It deleted the key expressions such as Taiwan is part of China from the US State Department website, put Taiwan in its so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy", openly upgraded its ties with Taiwan and increased arms sales to the region and supported separatist activities for "Taiwan independence," according to Xie.

He said the US government has indulged rather than restrained Pelosi's wilful act, leading to the escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait and seriously undermining China-US relations.

The US must not go further down the wrong path, escalating tensions and making the situation across the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations irreparable, Xie said.

He added that the United States should stop playing the "Taiwan card", stop using Taiwan to contain China in any form, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs.

The US must take concrete actions to observe the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques, deliver on the "five noes" commitment made by the U.S. leadership (i.e. not seek a "new Cold War"; not seek to change China's system; the revitalisation of its alliances is not against China; not support "Taiwan independence"; not look for conflict with China), and not go further down the wrong and dangerous path, Xie noted.

"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland. Chinese people are not afraid of ghosts, pressure and the evil," Xie said.

-- BERNAMA