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Chinese ambassador Qin Gang warns US its strengthened Taiwan ties could lead to war
- Taipei ‘is walking down the road towards independence, emboldened by the US, so China will not commit to giving up the unpeaceful means for reunification’, Qin said
- The ambassador made the comments in an interview with National Public Radio in Washington
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Robert Delaneyin Washington
China’s ambassador to the US on Friday accused Washington of encouraging Taiwan to seek independence and said that such moves raised the risk of military conflict.
“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,” Ambassador Qin Gang said in an interview with National Public Radio.
“If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict,” he added.
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Qin’s comments follow a string of engagements between US and Taiwanese government officials that have led Beijing to accuse Washington of violating the one-China principle that has served as a foundation for the nations’ relationship.
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Taiwan holds urban, aerial combat drills amid threats of invasion by mainland China
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In April, US President Joe Biden dispatched former US senator Christopher Dodd and former deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg to Taiwan, in what a White House official called a “personal signal” of the president’s commitment to the democratic government of the island, which Beijing claims is a renegade province.
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