Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 11, 2002
China Urges US to Stop Arms Sales to Taiwan
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday reiterated China's stance on opposing the United States' arms sales to Taiwan and military cooperation between the two sides.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday reiterated China's stance on opposing the United States' arms sales to Taiwan and military cooperation between the two sides.
Liu expressed China's grave concern over a series of reports and rumors about US weapon sales to Taiwan and military cooperation.
There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, Liu said. The Taiwan issue is China's internal affair which other countries have no right to meddle in.
Taiwan is not a dependency of the United States, and the latter's arms sales will severely interfere in China's internal affairs,undermine the Chinese government's efforts to peacefully resolve the Taiwan problem, damage Sino-US relations and wreck peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, he said.
He said China has always opposed to US arms sales to Taiwan, and repeatedly negotiated with the US side on this issue. The US side is very clear about China's position.
China urged the United States to be aware of the seriousness ofthe problem, keep its commitments in the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the one signed on August 17, 1982, to stopselling weapons to Taiwan, and halt military and other official contacts with Taiwan, so as to keep Sino-US relations and the mutual interests of the two countries from being harmed.