DHAKA: China said it is “seriously concerned” after President-elect Donald Trump expressed doubts about continuing to abide by the “One China” policy.
Under the policy, the US has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province.
In a TV interview on Sunday, Trump said he saw no reason why this should continue without key concessions, reports the BBC.
China urged Trump to understand the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue.
Beijing’s reaction came in a statement from foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, who told reporters that the “One China” policy was the basis for relations with Washington.
The “One China” understanding has been crucial to US-China relations for decades.
The US broke formal diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island of Taiwan in 1979 and switched recognition to China, ushering in a new era of deepening ties.
But even though formal diplomatic relations were broken, the US has maintained close unofficial ties with Taiwan over the years.
The dispute comes just over a week after Trump took a phone call from Taiwan’s President, sparking a diplomatic row and a formal protest from Beijing.
In the interview on Sunday (December 11), Trump said “I do not 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.”
Trump also said China was not co-operating with the US on its handling of its currency, on North Korea, or on tensions in the South China Sea.
No US president or president-elect had spoken directly to a Taiwanese leader for decades. But in the Fox interview, Trump said it was not up to Beijing to decide whether he should take a call from Taiwan’s leader.
Reaction in the normally hawkish Global Times, which is linked to the ruling Communist Party, was less nuanced than the foreign ministry.
The “One China policy cannot be traded”, it warned, and called for a strong response.
“China must resolutely battle Trump, only after a few serious rebuffs then will he truly understand that China and other global powers cannot be bullied.”
He may be a businessman, it went on, “but in the field of diplomacy, he is as ignorant as a child”.
** Trump hints ‘One China’ policy could end
BDST: 1512 HRS, DEC 12, 2016
AP/BD
