Taiwan yesterday repeated calls for Beijing to stay calm after yet another anti-China Twitter outburst from United States President-elect Donald Trump.
This comes amid growing concerns in Taipei over what Beijing could do to punish Taiwan as a message to Mr Trump following his phone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.
China was restrained in its response to Mr Trump's latest tirades, which accused China of being a currency manipulator and criticised its military build-up in the South China Sea. Instead of commenting directly on the tweets, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang yesterday said China's trade and economic ties with the US have always been "highly mutually beneficial" and reiterated the importance of the "One China" policy as the key political premise for the continuation of healthy Sino-US ties.
"The Taiwan issue has always been the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US relations," he said at a regular press briefing.
Mr Trump's tweets were posted on Sunday, just two days after he protested against criticisms over his 10-minute call with Ms Tsai.
The call was the first direct contact reported between a US president or president-elect and a leader of Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979.
There are growing fears that the episode could result in a backlash from Beijing that could further curtail Taipei's international space.
The Global Times, in an editorial in both its Chinese and English editions yesterday, accused the US of treating China as "a fat lamb".
"Trump's China-bashing tweet is just a cover for his real intent, which is to treat China as a fat lamb and cut a piece of meat off it," it said, warning that China should brace itself for the possible fluctuations in Sino-US ties after Mr Trump is sworn in.
The newspaper, which is linked to the Chinese Communist Party, was more specific in its warnings on what Beijing could do to punish Taiwan, a softer target for retaliation. In another editorial yesterday, it said: "The Chinese mainland can let Taiwan lose one or two diplomatic allies as a punishment as well as a warning.
"The mainland can also strengthen its military deployment based on Anti-Secession Law against Taiwan in case of its independence," said the newspaper.
Taiwan has been losing diplomatic allies over the years as countries switched to establishing formal relations with China. Only 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have formal ties with Taiwan.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katherine Chang, who oversees cross-strait relations, said the congratulatory call by Ms Tsai should not be seen as unusual and urged China to look at it with a "calm attitude".
"I don't think this is an act of provocation... Taiwan will not want to go back on the old path of antagonism with China and will not play one country against another."
She also said that Taiwan values building peaceful and stable cross-strait relations as much as boosting ties with the US.
In Beijing, University of International Business and Economics professor Ding Zhijie told The Straits Times there is no need to overreact to Mr Trump's comments.
"He's an expert in building houses, not an expert in currency exchange. If you pay too much attention to what he's saying, then you will end up being the loser," he said.
• Additional reporting by Jermyn Chow
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