China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has accused the United States of “reckless interference in internal affairs” at a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome.
In view of the growing tensions over Taiwan, Wang Yi emphasized during the talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit that this was the “most sensitive issue” between China and the US, according to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.
Wang accused Washington of supporting independence forces in Taiwan, and called on the US to pursue a “genuine One China policy, not a false one,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the island part of its territory.
President Joe Biden recently said that the US had a “commitment” to defend Taiwan if it was attacked.
The comment came amid rising international concern over Beijing’s stepped-up military incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.
Since China’s leader Xi Jinping did not travel to the G20 summit because of the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity was missed for a first summit with Biden.
Both are planning a meeting online in the coming weeks.
According to China, other topics in the foreign ministers’ meeting were the tensions with North Korea, the situation in Myanmar and Afghanistan and the nuclear dispute with Iran.
