China flags Taiwan as 'red line' ahead of Xi-Trump summit in Washington
China on Tuesday spelt out Taiwan as a “red line”, a day ahead of President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington for a summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its mainland.
Xi's meeting with Trump on Thursday during his three-day visit to Washington will be the two leaders' second meeting since May.
Announcing Xi’s visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the leaders' meeting within a span of half a year marks a "milestone of historic significance".
During the meeting, Xi is widely expected to convey China’s firm opposition to America’s proposed USD 11 billion arms package for Taiwan, which Trump has yet to approve and urge the US leader to scale down Washington's support for Taipei.
China claims the self-ruled Taiwan island is part of its mainland and vows to integrate it. It also prohibits countries it has diplomatic relations with from having formal ties with Taipei.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece, People’s Daily, on Tuesday highlighted the centrality of Taiwan's question in US-China ties.
It reiterated that Taiwan is a "red line” for Beijing, calling it a guardrail and safety net for China-US relations, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, citing the article.
“Managing ‘Taiwan independence’ is a key part of building constructive strategic stability between China and the US,” the front-page People’s Daily piece noted, framing pro-independence forces as a “common enemy” of Beijing and Washington.
"The US side must handle the Taiwan question with the utmost caution and take concrete action to safeguard the stable development of China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” it warned.
China, meanwhile, is also keeping a wary eye on Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meeting with Trump, during which she is expected to underscore the strength of the US-Japan alliance and the need to maintain a strong stand on Taiwan, Japanese officials said in Tokyo.
Takaichi is due to meet Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.
Her talks with Trump will take place as Japan, a close ally of the US, seeks to coordinate with Washington on China ahead of the US president's meeting with Xi.
Japanese officials say Takaichi will use her talks with Trump to underscore the strength of the US-Japan alliance and the need to further bolster deterrence against what Tokyo describes as Chinese military and economic coercion, the Japan Times reported.
Tension between China and Japan erupted in November last year over Takaichi's remarks in parliament that a Taiwan contingency could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan that may lead to action from the country's defence forces in support of the US.
Her remarks angered China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, and relations between the two countries have since remained tense.
Ahead of Xi's visit, Chaoyang Shaoxia, a social-media channel widely believed to be affiliated with the Chinese foreign ministry, wrote on Tuesday that the visit was aimed at “keeping the positive momentum going”.
The ministry, Chinese embassies and ambassadors also posted videos in both Chinese and English on social media, highlighting that “from Beijing to Washington DC, the China-US relationship must stay on course towards constructive strategic stability”.
Asked why the ministry posted the videos, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing on Tuesday that “China is ready to work with the US to enrich the China-US constructive relationship of strategic stability, enhance dialogue and cooperation, and properly manage differences to contribute to the well-being of both peoples and to a peaceful, stable and prosperous world”.
Meanwhile, China on Tuesday also tightened controls on the export of fentanyl precursors, Trump’s long-standing demand to stop the prevailing drug addiction in the US.
Chinese anti-narcotics authorities warned companies and individuals to prevent two chemicals, medetomidine and tartaric acid, used to make the drug Fentanyl from being diverted into narcotics production.
The warning by the China National Narcotics Control Commission is the latest move in Beijing's intensified efforts to prevent chemicals with potential applications in illicit drug production from being diverted into illegal channels, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Trump has been pressuring China to put curbs on chemicals and equipment used to manufacture Fentanyl, a very powerful synthetic opioid blamed for the widespread drug addiction crisis in America.
