China rips security meeting between US, Taiwan

China was reportedly angered by a meeting of U.S. and Taiwanese security officials, the first of its kind in more than 40 years.

Reuters reports Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that Beijing is “extremely dissatisfied and resolutely opposed” to the meeting.

{mosads}The response comes after Taiwan’s foreign affairs ministry confirmed a meeting earlier this month between Taiwan’s national security chief, David Lee, and White House national security adviser John Bolton.

Kang added that China is against any type of official exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan, a country Beijing does not officially recognize.

The meeting between Taiwan and the U.S. came while Lee was in the U.S. While Washington has no formal ties with the island nation off the coast of China, it does supply Taiwan with weapons, Reuters noted. The U.S. has sold Taiwan more than $15 billion in arms since 2010, according to the Pentagon.

The meeting adds to heightened tensions between the U.S. and China as negotiators work toward a trade deal and each nation imposes harsh tariffs on the other.

The U.S. has also increased naval patrols through the Taiwan Strait in recent months, further irritating China.