China urges U.S. to strictly observe one-China principle

BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged the United States to draw lessons from history, honor the three China-U.S. joint communiques and strictly observe the one-China principle.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the 40th anniversary of the August 17 Communique, one of the three China-U.S. joint communiques crucial to bilateral relations.

In the August 17 Communique issued in 1982, the U.S. government stated that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends to gradually reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.

This communique, the Shanghai Communique and the China-U.S. Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations constitute the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and their core essence is the one-China principle, Wang said.

The United States recognized that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China. It also recognized China's position that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. And on this basis, the Unites States met the three preconditions put forward by China, namely severing so-called "diplomatic relations," abrogating the "mutual defense treaty" with the Taiwan authorities, and withdrawing U.S. military forces from Taiwan, Wang said.

This made it possible for China and the United States, two countries with different social systems and ideologies and at different development stages, to have dialogue and cooperation, and achieve important outcomes that have benefited both sides and the world at large, according to Wang.

However, the United States has substantially eased restrictions on official relations with Taiwan and increased military contacts with the region, Wang said, adding that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan violated the U.S. commitment that it would only develop unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Upholding the one-China principle is a safeguard for China-U.S. relations and cross-Strait stability, Wang said.

He said the United States' deviation from the one-China principle will surely take a huge toll on the mutual trust between the two countries.

He said the United States reneged on the one-China principle, colludes with the "Taiwan independence" forces, connives at separatist activities, keeps changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, and shall bear all the responsibilities for the tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The one-China principle, reaffirmed by UNGA Resolution 2758, is an integral part of the post-WWII international order, an established international consensus and a widely-accepted basic norm in international relations, Wang said.

"By breaching the one-China principle, the United States is also challenging the post-war international order, which will surely be met with wide opposition from the international community," he said.