Status: 02/18/2023 12:56 p.m
At the Munich Security Conference, China’s top diplomat spoke of a US campaign against his country. With regard to Taiwan, he emphasized that Beijing regards the island state as part of its national territory.
China’s top foreign policy leader Wang Yi has accused the US of a smear campaign and aggressive behavior against his country. The US government is also calling on other countries to join in, he said at the Munich Security Conference.
Among other things, Wang accused Washington of a protectionist policy through sanctions against China in the semiconductor sector. The sanctions are “self-referential and a serious violation of free trade” and the rules of the World Trade Organization.
Criticism of US launch of balloon
Wang described the launch of a Chinese balloon by the USA as completely exaggerated. Washington was told it was a weather balloon that had gone astray. There are many such balloons in the world. “It’s not possible to shoot down all these balloons. That doesn’t show American strength either – on the contrary.”
A former foreign minister, Wang Yi is now director of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, making him the country’s top diplomat. In Munich, he met Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, among others.
Wang: Taiwan will never be an independent country
The Chinese diplomat remained firm in the conflict over Taiwan. “Taiwan has never been a separate country and will never be. This is the status quo of the Taiwan question,” he said at the security conference. Taiwan is part of Chinese territory. “It is not China that wants to change this status quo, but separatist forces in Taiwan.”
Wang accused those who called for Taiwan independence to undermine peace and stability. “Therefore, we must oppose Taiwan’s independence and separatism and uphold the one-China principle,” he added. This is also a consensus within the international community. “We reiterate the importance of preserving sovereignty and territorial integrity. And we hope the same will apply to China.”
Any violation of the one China policy or attempting to create two Chinas is “a major violation” of China’s territorial sovereignty. His country will fight back, Wang said.
China regards Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. The island republic, which has 23 million inhabitants, has long considered itself independent and was never part of the communist People’s Republic founded in 1949. China has been increasing pressure on the island for months with maneuvers and deployments of naval ships and military aircraft in the immediate vicinity of Taiwan.