US sending its envoy Kelly Craft to Taiwan is 'playing with fire', warns China

As Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the United Nations is set to visit Taiwan in the upcoming week and is scheduled to meet senior Taiwanese leaders, China on January 8 warned that Washington will “pay the price” for the move. Chinese mission to the UN called the US envoy’s visit to Taiwan as ‘playing with fire’ and said the US will remain unsuccessful in harming the ‘core’ interests of Beijing. China claims Taiwan to be its own territory but the self-governed island has been receiving support from the outgoing US President Donald Trump administration. 

Even during the last two visits to Taiwan by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach in August and September respectively, Chinese fighter jets had approached the island. Further, China has also rejected Taiwan’s offer to have ‘meaningful’ talks. Now, Craft will be on the island from January 13 to January 15 but Chinese mission to UN said Taiwan questions China’s integrity.

Chinese mission to UN said, “The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involves China’s core interests…The United States will not succeed in its attempt to harm China’s core interests through political manipulation on the Taiwan question."

“We wish to remind the United States that whoever plays with fire will burn himself. The United States will pay a heavy price for its wrong action. China strongly urges the United States to stop its crazy provocation, stop creating new difficulties for China-US relations and the two countries’ cooperation in the United Nations, and stop going further on the wrong path,” it added.

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China Rejects Taiwan's Offer For 'Meaningful' Talks

Earlier, China had categorically dismissed Taiwan’s offer to have ‘meaningful’ talks and accused the island’s government of engaging in “cheap trick” and provocation by seeking confrontation at several instances, international media outlets reported. In her New Year’s address, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on January 1 said that the nation is willing to have peaceful talks with China as equals as long as Beijing is ready to put aside confrontation. As Taiwan offers another olive branch to China, Beijing has continued to claim that Taiwan is its own territory and terms it ‘breakaway province’ and has even ramped up military activity near the island.

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