China Voices Firm Protest over G7 Statement

"China is delivering a firm protest to the G7 presidency," Chinese foreign ministry representative Zhao Lijian said at a briefing. "Our stance on the issue of Taiwan and foreign interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, as well as Xinjiang, remains unambiguous."

Beijing also called on the G7 to stop imposing illegal sanctions on other countries and stop deploying their warplanes and warships to other nations' borders, Sputnik reported. 

On Sunday, the Group of Seven raised concern over "the situation in and around the East and South China Seas", saying that Beijing should "abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation measures or the use of force". They also urged China to allow access to Xinjiang and Tibet for independent observers.

Previously, Chinese authorities lambasted the US for trying to undermine the one-China principle, after the US State Department deleted some statements from its site, including those saying that "the United States does not support Taiwan independence".

Beijing urged Washington to "stop engaging in political manipulation of Taiwan-related issues", stressing that "there is only one China in the world".

Taiwan has been governed separately from mainland China since 1949, when the communist forces won the civil war. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan, which calls itself the Republic of China, and maintains that it is an autonomous country.

At the same time, China's relations with Western countries are complicated by the Xinjiang issue, since the US, Britain, the EU nations and their allies have sanctioned several entities and individuals, accusing China of installing labor camps for ethnic minorities in the region.

Beijing denies accusations on the issue, saying that the authorities are just conducting a "deradicalization" program in Xinjiang to eliminate support for extremist groups.