China has reacted with a terse but clear statement expressing discontent over US President-elect Donald Trump's telephone conversation with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.
"China firmly opposes any official interaction or military cooperation between the US and Taiwan," China's foreign minister said in the first reaction to the convention breaking call between Trump and Tsai.
Trump talks with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen in ominous break with tradition
Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said the call between the US president-elect and the Taiwanese leader was the result of a Taipei plot. The call was "just a small trick by Taiwan,' Wang, said, according to Hong Kong's Phoenix TV.
Wang also expressed confidence that the On-China policy is the cornerstone of U.S.-China relations and that Beijing hoped that foundation would not be "interfered with or damaged."
No US president or president elect has held official talks with a Taiwanese leader since Washington adopted the One-China policy in 1979. China considers self ruling Taiwan as a renegade province and hasn't stood down on the possibility of using force to annex the island.
Trump discussed with Tsai the close economic, political, and security ties with Taiwan during the call, his transition team said.
Diplomatic circles reserved mixed reactions to the sudden shift in the US foreign policy that Trump's call with Tsai portended. While some dismissed it as an as yet unclear outreach from an unpredictable Trump whose foreign policy credentials were always suspect, others saw it as a bold new positioning vis-a-vis China.
