China Strongly Opposes US Declaration To Sell Arms to Taiwan 　

On Dec. 16, the U.S. government announced that it will sell Taiwan an arms package totaling $1.83 billion. On the same day, the foreign office assistant minister Zheng Zeguang was ordered to summon U.S. Embassy Beijing Deputy Chief of Mission Kaye A. Lee to discuss this serious matter.

Zheng Zeguang pointed out that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. China strongly opposes the U.S.’s declaration to sell arms to Taiwan. The U.S. sale of arms to Taiwan is a serious violation of international law and the fundamental standards of international relations, and is a serious violation of the principles of the third U.S.-China Joint Announcement; the sale seriously harms Chinese sovereignty and security interests. In order to defend national interests, China has decided to take the necessary step to issue sanctions against the companies involved in the American arms sales to Taiwan.

Zheng Zeguang emphasized that no one will be able to sway the Chinese government and population from defending their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, or from the firm will to fight against foreign interference. China urges the U.S. to scrupulously abide by the explicit promises in the third U.S.-China Joint Announcement, to withdraw from the planned arms sale to Taiwan, and to halt U.S.-Taiwan military relations in order to avoid further harm to U.S.-Sino relations and their important territorial cooperation.