China to never allow trampling on its sovereignty: Top diplomat

ANKARA

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Friday said both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to China, and Beijing would never allow anyone to trample on its sovereignty, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum on Chinese Modernization and the World held in Shanghai, Qin said Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China's territory since ancient times, and its return is a component of the post-war international order.

He slammed remarks accusing China of challenging the rules-based international order and changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait as absurd.

"It is not the Chinese mainland, but the Taiwan independence separatist forces and a handful of countries attempting to disrupt international rules and unilaterally changing the status quo," Qin said. "Those who play with fire on Taiwan will eventually get themselves burned."

Beijing sees Taiwan as its own territory and criticizes high-level meetings between Taiwanese and foreign leaders.

China recently held military exercises around Taiwan after its president, Tsai Ing-wen, met in Los Angeles US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid