China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between its diplomatic partners and Taiwan region: spokesperson

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between countries having diplomatic relations with China and the Taiwan region, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday.

Guo made the remarks at a daily press briefing when commenting on the visit to Taiwan by Japan's former Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu.

There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, Guo said. He urged Japan to abide by the one-China principle and stop sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

The top priority for Japan now is to retract its prime minister's erroneous remarks on Taiwan, he said.