"Won't Allow Taiwan To Separate": China Asks US To Handle Issue "Prudently"

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Washington needs to approach the issue of Taiwan "prudently", the ministry in Beijing said, as the pair held their first talks since Donald Trump took office.

"We will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China," Wang said, adding that Washington "must not betray its promise" to abide by the one-China policy, according to a readout of their telephone conversation provided by his ministry. 

While Beijing had "no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone", it maintained its "legitimate right to development", he said. 

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. 

The United States is a longtime supporter of Taiwan and its largest supplier of weapons, but does not formally recognise it diplomatically.

The State Department has not yet commented on the Wang-Rubio talks. 

But in his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Rubio said that a "dangerous" China had cheated its way to superpower status and vowed to ramp up support to deter any invasion of Taiwan.

In their call, Wang told Rubio that the world's top two economies should work to find "the right way to get along in the new era" -- presumably referring to Trump's return to the US presidency. 

The Chinese minister said the pair should follow the lead of China's Xi Jinping and Trump in setting the tone for relations at a "new important juncture," the ministry said.

Both sides should "maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation, and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations, finding the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era", the readout quoted Wang as saying. 

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