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| Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian (File Photo) |
Beijing: China has once again warned the United States against going ahead with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
“Perhaps you missed our briefings in the past few days. We have repeatedly made clear our firm opposition to Speaker Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“If the US side insists on making the visit and challenges China’s red line, it will be met with resolute countermeasures. The US must assume full responsibility for any serious consequence arising thereof,” he added.
Pelosi is reportedly planning to visit Taiwan in August, but the White House said her plans have not been locked in yet.
Beijing’s opposition came after US media reports said that the US House of Representatives plans to visit Taiwan in August amid tension with China. As per a media report, Pelosi and her delegation will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific command.
Beijing last week warned the US against the House of Representatives Speaker’s Taiwan visit next month saying that it will act strongly and take countermeasures if the US side insists on going ahead with the visit.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Pelosi’s Taiwan visit will have a severe negative impact on the political foundation of China-US relations.
Last week, US President Joe Biden said the US military believes it is not a “good idea” for House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to travel to Taiwan as planned. “The military thinks it’s not a good idea right now,” Biden said on Wednesday as quoted by the White House press pool.
China has on many occasions firmly opposed any form of official interaction between the United States and the Taiwan region.
While warning against US House speaker’s Taiwan visit, a Chinese state media outlet said, “If the news is true and the trip happens, it will be one of the most egregious provocations by the US to China on the Taiwan question since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US.”
A Global Times editorial said visiting Taiwan is definitely a red line that Pelosi must never cross.
Back in April, Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan had been postponed after she tested positive for COVID-19. At that time, Beijing had resolutely opposed any official exchange between the United States and Taiwan.
