China blasts US for lifting curbs on official contacts with Taiwan

BEIJING • China has condemned the US for scrapping curbs on interactions with Taiwan officials, saying that nobody could prevent the country's reunification with the island.

The United States is ending restrictions governing official contacts with Taiwan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last Saturday, a move hailed by Taipei as ending "decades of discrimination".

Mr Pompeo said the "complex internal restrictions" on contacts with Taipei by diplomats, service members and others had been imposed "in an attempt to appease the communist regime in Beijing".

"No more," he added. The declaration may be more symbolic than substantive in effect, but it nonetheless angered China, which sees Taiwan as its own territory.

China said yesterday that it was "resolutely opposed" to the US decision and strongly condemned it.

"The Chinese people's resolve to defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity is unshakeable, and we will not permit any person or force to stop the process of China's reunification," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

"Any actions which harm China's core interests will be met with a firm counter-attack and will not succeed," he added.

While the US does not have official ties with Taiwan, it is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

Under President Donald Trump, it has ramped up arms sales and sent senior officials to Taipei.

Chinese state media also lambasted the decision.

The widely read Global Times tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said China must send a "stern warning" to Taiwan.

"Those on the island of Taiwan must not take for granted that they can seek secession with the help of the last-ditch madness of an administration abandoned by the Americans," the paper added.

"On the contrary, such madness is very likely to bring them annihilation."

Mr Pompeo's announcement came in the final weeks of the Trump administration, and at a time of already heightened tensions between Beijing and both Washington and Taipei.

There were no details on what the change means in practice, with Mr Pompeo saying executive branch communications with Taiwan will be handled by the American Institute in Taiwan, which is owned by the US government and serves as the de facto embassy.

Mr Trump has sent multiple senior officials to Taipei over the past year as he clashed with China on a host of issues, ranging from its handling of the coronavirus pandemic to disputes over trade, security and human rights.

Mr Pompeo's statement also came just two days after China warned the US it would pay a "heavy price" if its ambassador to the United Nations, Ms Kelly Craft, made good on plans to travel to Taiwan tomorrow.

Beijing opposes any diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and has tried to keep the island isolated on the world stage.

Ms Craft's scheduled three-day visit will come just a week before Mr Joe Biden's inauguration as US president, adding to a string of diplomatic headaches facing the incoming administration.

"China strongly urges the United States to stop its crazy provocation, stop creating new difficulties for China-US relations... and stop going further on the wrong path," the Chinese mission to the UN said in a statement responding to Ms Craft's trip.

Mr Pompeo's move and Ms Craft's visit have prompted concern in some circles in Taiwan, where there is a broad cross-party consensus on maintaining strong US ties.

But there have also been worries that Mr Trump may sacrifice Taiwan for a deal with China.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE