China calls on US to cut off official interaction with Taiwan after congressional delegation’s visit

China’s Foreign Ministry has demanded that the U.S. “immediately stop all forms of official interactions with Taiwan,” a spokesperson said at a press conference Wednesday. 

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said the recent visit to Taiwan by members of the U.S. Congress “gravely violates” the one-China policy.

China has repeatedly called for the reunification of Taiwan into China’s borders. Wang called Taiwan “an inalienable part of China’s territory.”

Wang added, “On both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the 1.4 billion Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, share the overwhelming aspiration for national reunification.”

He further emphasized that the U.S. should cease all formal engagements with Taiwan to “avoid sending wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” and added that continuing interaction could “seriously undermine China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

On Tuesday, a delegation of U.S. senators and members of the House arrived in Taipei on a military plane, Reuters reported, citing local media.

It is not known which lawmakers were part of the delegation. However, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that a congressional delegation had arrived in Taipei.

Commenting on the visit, Wenbin said that the Chinese government urges “relevant U.S. lawmakers to get a clear understanding of the situation: it is a dangerous game to collude with ‘Taiwan independence’ forces, and joining the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces in playing with fire will only get oneself burnt. All adventurist and provocative moves to confront the trend of China’s reunification is like an ant trying to topple a giant tree and will end up in failure.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have reached a new high as Beijing has ramped up provocations in recent weeks by, among other things, conducting combat readiness drills in the skies and sea near Taiwan. On Oct. 4, Taiwanese officials alleged that 56 Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone, the highest number since Taiwan began publicly reporting similar incursions last year.