Taiwan's leaders' attempts to ally them with foreign anti-Beijing powers will fail, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, promising Washington would face serious consequences for encouraging Taiwan to secede.
The remarks came after the United States and Taiwan announced earlier Wednesday that bilateral trade talks had begun in defiance of Beijing, whose provinces consider the island one of its provinces and refuses to allow it to establish formal relations with foreign countries.
In an online interview Tuesday, her deputy Sarah Bianchi and Taiwanese Minister John Deng launched the 21st Century U.S.-Taiwan Trade Initiative to develop concrete ways to deepen their "economic and trade relations," the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.
The first meeting is scheduled to take place "later this month in Washington under the auspices of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office of the United States (Tekro) and the American Institute in Taiwan.
Tekro represents Taiwan's interests in the United States in the absence of formal diplomatic relations and serves as a de facto embassy.
The announcement comes two days after 30 Chinese planes penetrated Taiwan's air defense zone, which is under constant threat of an invasion from China.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has pledged to restore it by force if necessary. The launch of trade talks with Washington could therefore lead to a strong reaction from the Chinese government.
Source: Arabic