WEB DESK
China on Thursday voiced strong opposition to the start of negotiations on a trade initiative ‘US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade’ between the US and Taiwan, vowing to take all necessary measures to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on the US to stop any official exchanges with the island of Taiwan on economic and trade grounds and warned the US against miscalculations. Chinese Commerce Ministry urged the US to abide by the one-China principle. A spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, also issued a stern warning to the Taiwanese authorities against “colluding with external forces.”
The US has announced that it will begin formal trade negotiations with Taiwan. The announcement came weeks after a controversial visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Office of US Trade Representative, in a statement said, the first round of talks is expected to begin in early fall. According to reports, trade between the US and Taiwan was worth nearly 106 billion dollar in 2020.
State media quoting Chinese trade analysts noted that the latest move by the US and the DPP authorities is another blatant challenge to the one-China principle and a serious provocation against China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as the ‘US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade’ carries sovereign connotations and is of an official nature.
The 11 trade areas to be addressed in the so-called negotiating mandate such as trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, small and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture mostly revolve around facilitating trade between the two sides, which tend to result in changes in the business environment, a Chinese analysts said as reported by state media.