By Liz Lee and Yimou Lee
BEIJING/TAIPEI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Taiwan and human rights are “red lines” for China that cannot be crossed, the country’s ambassador to the US warned on Wednesday, striking a firm tone ahead of this week’s leadership summit in Washington.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Washington for a summit with President Donald Trump, as both sides look to bring stability to ties overshadowed by arguments over everything from trade to Taiwan.
Writing in the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily on the day Xi is due to leave, Ambassador Xie Feng said managing differences hinges on good faith, and the US should stop “fabricating pretexts” such as national security, economic imbalances and forced labour to try to and constrain China.
When China and the US cooperate, both benefit, but when they confront each other, both suffer, he added.
“China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests cannot be violated, and four red lines — the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, development paths and systems, and development rights — cannot be challenged,” Xie said.
“China is committed to pursuing peaceful development and hopes the US will move toward this as well.”
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objections of the government in Taipei.
TAIWAN TENSIONS
The US is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier and international backer, and China has repeatedly demanded weapons sales to Taiwan end.
After a May summit in Beijing with Xi, Trump said he was holding a new arms package, worth around $14 billion, in abeyance and described it as a “very good negotiating chip”.
A senior Taiwan security official told reporters that Beijing views any delay in US arms transfers as a direct way to slow Taiwan’s military build up, giving China more room to expand pressure around Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines.
China could use a package of inducements, including purchases of US goods or gestures on Middle East tensions, to convince Trump that reduced US military commitments in the region could buy broader cooperation from Beijing, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
China’s military has significantly increased the number of naval, coast guard and research ships around Taiwan, in the South and East China Seas, and collecting data on things like undersea cables that could be useful for war, the official said.
China’s foreign and defence ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, though says it would prefer “peaceful reunification”.
In Beijing, a spokesperson for Taiwan Affairs Office said it was Taiwan that was “deliberately” escalating confrontation.
“Scheming for independence is the primary culprit in destroying peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and undermining the status quo,” spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said.
‘ERRONEOUS’ US PERCEPTIONS
A separate commentary on Wednesday in the People’s Daily said Washington’s “erroneous” perceptions of China and its inability to let go of the notion of strategic competition are the basic causes of their difficult relationship.
“In recent years, the tortuous path China-US relations have travelled clearly shows the US’s erroneous perceptions of China and its unwillingness to let go of the notion of ‘strategic competition’ are the fundamental cause of recurring difficulties,” said the commentary, without offering details.
Both sides should cherish the favourable momentum that has come at “great cost, maintain the right direction, and eliminate interference”, said the article, published under the pen name “Zhong Sheng”, meaning “Voice of China” and used to give views on foreign policy.
“The US side, in particular, needs to maintain continuity and stability in its policies, honour its commitments, and inject certainty into bilateral relations,” it added.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Michael Perry and Stephen Coates)
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