China calls on US to halt expansion of ties with Taiwan

China has called on the United States to halt its expansion of ties with Taiwan, after Washington and Taipei declared they would hold economic talks later this month.

According to reports, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remark during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday and amid a major escalation of tensions with the US over a variety of issues, including recent arms sales to self-ruled Taiwan.

The development came just days after the outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump approved the sale of advanced drones to Taiwan, in yet another provocative attempt to boost the self-ruled island against mainland China.

The Pentagon announced last week that the US State Department had cleared the potential sale of four MQ-9 SeaGuardian drones — worth 600 million dollars — to Taiwan in a formal notification to Congress.

Wang had said earlier that Beijing would give legitimate and necessary responses as circumstances further unfolded.

The Trump administration has been approving a host of weapons sales to Taiwan in recent weeks. Washington approved the sale of 2.4 billion dollars’ worth of arms sales to Taipei on October 25, prompting Beijing to vow to take measures necessary to uphold its sovereignty and security interests.

Beijing further announced at the time that it would impose sanctions on major US weapons makers such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense, and Raytheon that are engaged in the transfer of arms to Taiwan.

China maintains sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan, and under the “One China” policy, nearly all countries worldwide — including the US — recognize that sovereignty.

Washington, however, has been courting Taiwan in an attempt to irk Beijing.

SS