U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's call with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was a "petty action" by Taiwan that does not change its status as part of China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.
China will "unswervingly" stick to its position of opposing Taiwan independence, it said, in a statement released on the official Xinhua news agency.The Chinese foreign minister expressed concerns after Trump tweeted on Friday Tsai had called him to congratulate him on winning the U.S. presidency, a move that breaks with 40 years of White House diplomatic protocol.Washington has pursued a so-called "one China" policy since 1979, when it shifted diplomatic recognition of China from the government in Taiwan to the communist government on the mainland. Under that policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as representing China but retains unofficial ties with Taiwan.
Taiwan split from the Chinese mainland amid civil war in 1949. Current U.S. policy considers Taiwan's sovereignty "unsettled."
In light of Trump accepting the call, China said it has lodged a complaint with the U.S. — what the Chinese foreign ministry called "stern representations" — and reiterated its commitment to seeking "reunification" with the self-governed democratic island, which it considers a renegade province.
After the phone conversation, Trump tweeted that Tsai "called me." He also groused about the reaction to the call: "Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call."The city's mayor, Cheng Wen-tsan, said in a statement on the city government's website last month that a representative of the Trump Organization had visited the city and expressed interest in investing in hotels near the airport. The statement said the visit was too brief for both sides to get into details.
The Trump Organization has denied it has any projects planned in Taiwan.The Taiwanese presidential office said Trump and Tsai discussed issues affecting Asia and the future of U.S. relations with Taiwan. "The (Taiwanese) president is looking forward to strengthening bilateral interactions and contacts as well as setting up closer co-operative relations," the statement said.
Tsai also told Trump that she hoped the U.S. would support Taiwan in its participation in international affairs, the office said, in an apparent reference to China's efforts to isolate Taiwan from global institutions such as the United Nations.
The call is the starkest example yet of how Trump has flouted diplomatic conventions since he won the Nov. 8 election. He has apparently undertaken calls with foreign leaders without guidance customarily lent by the State Department, which oversees U.S. diplomacy.
Trump 'shooting the from hip'
"President-elect Trump is just shooting from the hip, trying to take phone calls of congratulatory messages from leaders around the world without consideration for the implications," said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
China is likely to be trying to identify whether this signals any intent on the part of Trump to alter long-standing U.S. policy toward Taiwan, Glaser said.
"They will hope that this is a misstep, but I think privately, they will definitely seek to educate this incoming president and ensure that he understands the sensitivity of Taiwan," she said.
Last month, Trump had a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which Trump's office described him as saying he believed the two would have "one of the strongest relationships for both countries."
Despite China's muted response Saturday, concern about Trump's policy toward China is growing, said Shi Yinhong of Renmin University in Beijing, one of China's best-known international relations scholars.
Taiwan elects pro-independence leader as president
Tsai was elected in January and took office in May. The traditional independence-leaning policies of her party have strained relations with Beijing.
The call with Trump could "convince people in Taiwan that the island can establish good relations with the U.S. and encourage (Tsai) to continue to resist pressure from Beijing," Shi said.
China believes Tsai wants to push for the island's formal independence, a red line for Beijing. However, Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo with China and wants peaceful relations.
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