Director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Yi (王毅) ended a mid-week visit to Washington by urging US President Barack Obama to stop selling arms to Taiwan.
Sources say that he argued the arms sales could only damage cross-strait relations and harm Sino-US ties.
While both sides were anxious to avoid even the appearance of disagreement, US officials said later that the State Department had taken a firm stand and refused to make any concessions on the issue.
Wang’s meetings were at the highest level, signaling that Taiwan remains a top priority within the administration.
Wang talked with Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on Wednesday and with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Thursday. He also talked with the National Security Council’s Senior Director of Asian Affairs Jeff Bader.
“This, again, underscores ongoing consultations that we have on a variety of regional security issues,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.
Asked if Wang had delivered a “major message” from Beijing, Crowley said: “I don’t know that we have a major message. We have certainly encouraged dialogue between China and Taiwan. It is in our interest, we believe it’s in China’s interest, to develop a sustainable relationship between the two.”
Pressed to address the talks between Wang and the US on arms sales to Taiwan, Crowley said: “Well, first of all, we follow our law, and our activities in that area are guided by the Taiwan Relations Act. We fully understand that our support to provide for — help provide for — Taiwan’s legitimate defensive needs is an issue for China. I wouldn’t be surprised if we — if that was part of the discussion.”
Wang arrived in New York on Tuesday and attended a reception for Chinese and Taiwanese nationals living in the city before he flew to Washington the next day.
China’s Xinhua News Agency reported that while in Washington, Wang told the Obama administration that he hoped the US would continue to stand firm on its one China policy, abide by the principles of the three China-US joint communiques and support the peaceful development of cross-strait ties.
“During the meetings, Wang also expressed China’s solemn position on US arms sales to Taiwan,” the agency said.
In a speech given at the New York reception Wang said that deepening economic cooperation was still a priority for the stable development of cross-strait relations.
“Moreover, people-to-people exchanges in such fields as culture and education shall also be enhanced in a healthy and orderly manner. The cross-strait relationship is still facing many unsolved disputes and conflicts as well as new challenges,” he said. “Both sides need to build mutual trust, seek common ground while shelving differences and disputes and strive to create win-win results which is a guarantee for the stable development of ties.”
According to Xinhua, Wang stressed that opposing “the secessionist activities of the Taiwan independence forces and sticking with the 1992 consensus” is the basis for building mutual trust.
“We must send a clear message: We oppose Taiwan independence in various forms and we must take a firm stand to maintain the hard-earned good situation in cross-strait relations,” Wang said.
As previously reported in the Taipei Times, Wang said that both sides had agreed to tackle the easier, economic issues first, but that this was not absolute, because some seemingly easy issues were difficult and some economic issues were political.
The Mainland Affairs Council said later that Taipei and Beijing had “touched” on political issues, but said all cross-strait agreements signed over the past two years had been economic in nature.
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