China To Sanction U.S. Firms Selling Arms to Taiwan, as Wang Yi Warns U.S. Is ‘Playing with Fire’

July 12, 2019 (EIRNS)—Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang announced July 11 that Beijing intends to impose sanctions on U.S. companies that sell weapons to Taiwan. On July 8, the Defense Department announced it is selling $2.2 billion worth of tanks, missiles and other military hardware to Taiwan.

Geng Shuang stated bluntly that “U.S. arms sales to Taiwan constitute a serious violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations. This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués. It also undermines China’s sovereignty and national security. To safeguard our national interests, China will impose sanctions on the U.S. enterprises involved in the above-mentioned arms sales to Taiwan.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a tour of Eastern Europe, said from Budapest today that the U.S. should refrain from its dealings with Taiwan, warning it is “playing with fire.” No power, he said, can prevent China from reunifying with Taiwan, which China considers to be a rebellious province, nor should any force attempt to do so, AP reported. “If the U.S. side wants to create new troubles in U.S.-China relations,” Wang stated, “ultimately their actions will backfire. We urge the United States to fully recognize the gravity of the Taiwan question and honor its promise of adhering to the one-China principle.”

The Foreign Minister’s remarks coincide with the “stopover” in New York by Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, en route to meet with Caribbean nations which still maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Global Times today warned that Tsai’s stopover is a sign that Washington is using Taiwan as a card against the mainland, and is becoming more proactive in doing so, and stating that the location and timing of her stopover is related to the U.S.-China trade war.