China said Friday it firmly opposes the signature of the first US-Taiwan agreement under a larger bilateral trade initiative, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. China firmly opposes countries with which it has diplomatic relations conducting any form of official exchange with Taiwan, including the negotiation and signature of economic and trade agreements that have sovereign implications or are official in nature,” the Ministry of Commerce said. The comments came after the US signed the agreement with Taiwan under their “Initiative on 21st Century Trade” and sent government officials to attend the Washington ceremony on Thursday, disregarding China’s repeated solemn representations, according to the report. “We urge the US side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communique, handle economic and trade relations with Taiwan prudently, and cease any form of official US-Taiwan exchanges,” the ministry said.
Under the deal, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported that both sides are committed to facilitating bilateral trade and investment flows, improving regulatory practices, promoting anti-corruption measures, minimizing unnecessary border formalities, and encouraging the development of medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Taiwan’s top trade negotiator John Deng, who also attended the ceremony, said the new deal would strengthen the ability of Taiwanese companies, particularly SMEs, to engage in international trade and investment activities. China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing regards the island as its territory.
Source: Kuwait News Agency