China Takes US to Task over Expected Meeting of House Speaker with Taiwan’s Top Official

"The PRC expresses concern about the information. We have already presented our serious objections to the US side and demanded that the US clarify the situation," Mao Ning, the ministry’s spokeswoman, said at a news conference.

"I want to stress this: China opposes any official communications between Taiwan and the United States," she added, TASS reported.

The spokeswoman said compliance with the agreements on the issue of Taiwan and the one-China principle is the foundation for the development of prosperous relations between the US and China. She also referred to a statement to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang who said earlier that the issue of Taiwan is a red line that Washington shouldn’t cross.

"The real threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the separatist elements in Taiwan," Mao Ning said. - We insist ... the United States should fulfill the promises that the American leadership made, assuring that it would not support the proponents of the so-called independence of Taiwan."

According to Bloomberg, McCarthy confirmed that he would meet with Tsai Ing-wen in the United States, rather than during a visit to the island. However, he did not rule out that he would visit Taiwan in the future.

In 2022, Taipei was visited by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her visit provoked an extremely negative reaction from Beijing.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the Kuomintang’s remaining forces headed by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) were defeated in the Chinese Civil War and took refuge on the island. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces, a stance supported by most other countries including Russia.