China must safeguard its legitimate rights to development: FM

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China has no intention to overtake or replace any country, but must safeguard its legitimate rights to development, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday during his phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

China will never allow Taiwan to be separated from the motherland, stressed Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Major countries should act like major countries, Wang said, expressing his hope that Rubio would act responsibly to play a constructive role for the future of the Chinese and the American people, as well as for global peace and stability.