Donald Trump’s 10-minute phone call to Taiwan provokes China’s ire

China lodged a protest with the US over President-elect Donald Trump’s unprecedented telephone talk with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wenz, asking Washington to honour its commitment for One-China policy.

“China has lodged solemn representations with the US, urging the US to honour its commitment to the One-China policy,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Saturday.

“We have taken note of the relevant reports and made solemn representations about it to the relevant US side. It must be pointed out that there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” he said.The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legitimate government representing China, which is a fact recognised by the international community, he said. The One-China principle is the political foundation of Sino-US relations, he said.

“We urge the relevant parties in the US to abide by the commitment to the One-China policy and abide by the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqus, and to handle the Taiwan issue with caution and care to avoid unnecessarily interfering with the overall situation of Sino-US relations,he said in comments posted on the Foreign Ministry website.

Geng’s appeal to “relevant parties” came after reports that Trump bypassed US State Department in talking to Tsai. Apparently the call came from the Taiwanese President, who is adversely viewed by China as she was elected early this year on anti-China platform.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi played down Trump’s telephone talk with Tsai, dismissing it as a “small trick by Taiwan” that cannot change the One-China framework or damage Sino-US ties.

“I do not think it will change the One-China policy that the US government has insisted on applying over the years,” Wang said, Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV reported.

“The One-China policy is the cornerstone of the healthy development of China-US relations and we hope this political foundation will not be interfered with or damaged,” Wang said after Trump spoke to Tsai, a striking break with decades of US diplomatic practice not to directly speak with Taiwan leader.

While Trump’s call caught China by surprise, Wang’s quick reaction played down expectations of a strong reaction from Beijing which wants to establish full contacts with Trump administration after he formally takes over power next month.

Like most of the countries in the world, US too pursued a so-called “One-China” policy since 1979, when it shifted its diplomatic recognition by formally recognising Peoples Republic of China (PRC) instead of Taiwan which broke off with mainland in 1949 after the formation of the PRC. However, US continues to maintain low-key contacts with Taiwan including supplying military hardware to it.