Beijing Says One China Policy Is ‘Non-Negotiable’ After Trump Says ‘Everything is Under Negotiation’

A demonstrator holds a sign in support of China during Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s stop-over after her visit to Latin America in Burlingame, California, U.S., January 14, 2017. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)

China on Saturday rebuked president-elect Donald Trump for his recent suggestion that the longstanding U.S. “One China” policy could be changed under his administration.

Under the policy the U.S. recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government and does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. Its beginnings date to 1972 when Richard Nixon visited mainland China to initiate closer relations with the country’s Communist government.

“There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a statement posted to the ministry’s website.

Trump in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday the president-elect was asked whether he supported the One China policy, and he replied: “Everything is under negotiation, including One China.”

Trump raised eyebrows about the policy last month when the president-elect spoke over the phone with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. The U.S. has not had diplomatic relations with Taiwan since 1979.

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SOURCE: NBC News, Phil Helsel