China opposes planned Taiwan visit by U.S. UN ambassador: Chinese mission

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 7 -- A spokesperson of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said on Thursday that China opposes a planned Taiwan visit by Kelly Craft, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations.

According to media reports, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Craft will visit Taiwan. China firmly opposes it, said the spokesperson.

There is only one China in the world and the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole China. The United States made an explicit commitment on this in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, including the 1979 Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. China firmly opposes any forms of official contacts between the United States and the Taiwan region. This position is consistent and clear, said the spokesperson.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involves China's core interests. The one-China principle is widely recognized by the international community and is a basic norm of international relations affirmed by the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, said the spokesperson.

"The United States will not succeed in its attempt to harm China's core interests through political manipulation on the Taiwan question. We wish to remind the United States that whoever plays with fire will burn himself. The United States will pay a heavy price for its wrong action. China strongly urges the United States to stop its crazy provocation, stop creating new difficulties for China-U.S. relations and the two countries' cooperation in the United Nations, and stop going further on the wrong path," said the spokesperson.