US official's Taiwan meeting criticized

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition on Monday to a meeting between United States National Security Adviser John Bolton and Taiwan's security chief Lee Ta-wei.

The meeting took place during Lee's trip to the US from May 13 to 21, and was reported as the first of its kind since 1979, when the US established diplomatic ties with China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news conference that China is against any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan under any pretext, as well as any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".

That position is clear and consistent, Lu said.

The one-China principle is the political foundation for bilateral relations, and he urged the US to keep its promises and to abide by the principles of the three China-US joint communiques.

The US recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, and within that context, the people of the US would continue to maintain only cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with Taiwan, according to the communique on establishing bilateral diplomatic ties.

China urged the US to stop pursuing any official exchanges or upgrading its relations with Taiwan in any substantive way, Lu said, adding that China also demands Washington handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid disrupting bilateral ties and cooperation.

The meeting came as relations between Beijing and Washington have soured over trade differences. Taiwan has been viewed as the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US ties.

The US House of Representatives passed the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 this month, which reaffirms "the US commitment to Taiwan and to the implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act", Xinhua News Agency reported.

The act would have to be approved by the US Senate and signed by the president before becoming law.