FM: China opposes US interference in its internal affairs, Taiwan's status

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that Beijing "resolutely opposed illegal and unreasonable suppression by the United States, especially its crude interference in China's internal affairs" including the status of Taiwan.

On December 17, during an address in Beijing, Wang said China's policy towards the United States "has not changed" that reflected on the country's diplomatic work in the past year and its expectations for the future, Caliber.Az reports, citing Western media.

He said that economic working groups and cooperation on cross-border drug control "fully prove that as long as China and the United States cooperate, we can accomplish many great things".

"We must take a firm and strong response, resolutely defend our own legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard the basic norms of international relations," Wang said.

Wang said Beijing hoped the Trump administration would "make the right choices, work with China in the same direction, eliminate disruptions, overcome obstacles, and strive for stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations".

Notably, China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce using force to seize it one day, while the US has a longstanding arrangement to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself.

Taiwanese officials said last week that China had held its biggest maritime drills around the island in years, deploying around 90 ships from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea and simulating attacks on foreign vessels and sea route blockades.

Beijing never confirmed the drills, but a defence ministry spokesman said that "whether or not we hold exercises, and when we hold them, are decided by us alone".

The China-US relationship may sour further after Trump is inaugurated on January 20, with the president-elect vowing more tariffs to punish what he calls unfair trade practices by China -- something Beijing firmly denies.

By Khagan Isayev