Question: It is reported that the UK has recently held its 28th trade talks and signed cooperation documents with China’s Taiwan region. What is China’s comment?

Embassy Spokesperson: China firmly opposes any form of official contact between the governments of countries that have diplomatic relations with China and China’s Taiwan region. What the UK has done violates the one-China principle, runs counter to its own political commitment made to the Chinese side in the 1972 China-UK joint communiqué on the agreement on an exchange of ambassadors, sends a seriously wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, and constitutes a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs. The Chinese side deeply deplores such actions and has lodged solemn representations to the UK side.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair. The one-China principle is the political foundation and important precondition for the establishment and development of China-UK diplomatic relations. It is a red line that must not be crossed. We urge the UK side to honour its commitment of recognising Taiwan as a province of China, stop having official contact with Taiwan under any pretext, and cease all actions and rhetorics that violate the one-China principle, so as to avoid causing serious disruption to China-UK relations.