Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman An Fengshan signals for questions from a journalist at a routine press conference in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. China says any change in U.S. policy favoring formal recognition of Taiwan will 鈥渟eriously鈥� damage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and undermine relations between Beijing and Washington. AP
BEIJING, China 鈥� Any change in U.S. policy favoring formal recognition of Taiwan will 鈥渟eriously鈥� damage peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and undermine relations between Beijing and Washington, a Chinese government spokesman said Wednesday.
The comments from the Cabinet鈥檚 Taiwan Affairs Office follow President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 remarks over the weekend that he didn鈥檛 feel 鈥渂ound by a one-China policy鈥� unless the U.S. could gain benefits from China in trade and other areas.
搁贰础顿:听Trump questions 鈥榦ne China policy鈥� without Beijing concessions
Under the one-China policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as China鈥檚 government and maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan, a former Japanese colony which broke from the Chinese mainland amid civil in 1949.
Spokesman An Fengshan said breaching the one-China principle 鈥渨ill seriously affect peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.鈥�
鈥淭he one-China policy is an important political foundation for relations between China and the U.S.,鈥� An told reporters. 鈥淚f such a foundation is disturbed or undermined, there can be no talk of a healthy and stable development of U.S-China relations.鈥�
Trump broke diplomatic precedent by talking on the phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2, during which the island鈥檚 leader congratulated Trump on his election victory. Then, this past weekend, Trump said he might use America鈥檚 recognition of Beijing as leverage for gaining advantages in trade and other areas.
Spokesman An Fengshan said breaching the one-China principle 鈥渨ill seriously affect peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.鈥�
That is placing him perilously close to touching on China鈥檚 bottom line that brooks no formal recognition of Taiwan or challenge to its claim to sovereignty over the island. China鈥檚 response has thus far been fairly muted, mainly blaming Tsai for placing the call.
The last major crisis over Taiwan came in 1995, when China staged threatening war games and missile tests near the island in response to then-president Lee Teng-hui鈥檚 visit to the U.S., which was seen by Beijing as a bid to solidify the island鈥檚 de-facto independent status. The move was largely seen as backfiring, with Lee winning the island鈥檚 first direct presidential election in 1996.
Washington responded by putting two aircraft carrier battle groups on alert, one of which crossed the Taiwan Strait, although China鈥檚 vast strides in military power in the years since would likely complicate such a move in the current era.
The U.S. and China are the world鈥檚 two largest economies with bilateral trade in goods and services reaching nearly $660 billion last year.
Although the U.S. does not challenge China鈥檚 claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, Washington remains Taiwan鈥檚 main source of weapons, with $14 billion in approved arms sales since 2009, and is bound by law to consider threats to the island鈥檚 security a matter of 鈥済rave concern.鈥澛�CBB