A senior Chinese official on Taiwan affairs on Friday held talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other officials to reiterate China's strong opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan.
During the meeting, Wang Yi, director of China's State Council' s Taiwan Affairs Office, elaborated the Chinese mainland's views on the current situation across the Taiwan Strait and its current policies. William Burns, the newly appointed US Deputy Secretary of State, took part in the talks.
Reiterating the Chinese mainland's long-held position against U. S. arms sales to Taiwan, Wang urged the US government to continue to earnestly implement its promises on Taiwan-related issues, support peaceful development of the cross-strait relations, and play an active role in maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Wang stressed that the Chinese mainland has been steadfast in opposing the US arms sales to Taiwan, because it harms Sino-US ties and the peaceful development of the cross-strait relations.
Earlier, Wang Yi had met respectively with Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Daniel Russel, senior director for Asian affairs at the White House National Security Council.
Both sides agreed that the talks were timely, necessary and beneficial, because they helped enhance mutual understanding on the Taiwan issue. The US officials applauded the significant and positive progress that has been made in the cross-strait relations in recent years, while reiterating that Washington will firmly uphold the one-China policy.
The US side also expressed the hope that the stability in the cross-strait situation will be sustained and the cross-strait relations will continue to make further progress, which is in the common interests of the US and the Chinese mainland.
Wang's visit to the US came amid media reports that the US government is about to announce new arms sales to Taiwan despite the Chinese mainland's repeated warnings about its negative implications on Sino-US ties and the cross-strait situation.