China warns Britain is ‘sending wrong signals’ as it lashes out at trade minister’s visit to Taiwan

• Beijing has lashed out at UK for sending trade minister Greg Hands to Taiwan
• Mr Hands is latest foreign official to defy Beijing’s warnings over Taiwan visits
• China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has threatened to annex it by force

China has lashed out at the UK for sending trade minister Greg Hands for talks in Taiwan, insisting ‘official contacts’ with the self-governing island republic must cease.

Beijing said the UK must ‘stop sending the wrong signals to Taiwan’ after they sent Mr Hands to Taiwan, the latest foreign official to defy Beijing’s warnings over contacts with the island.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to annex it by force. It also seeks to isolate it diplomatically, requiring governments that it has formal relations with to respect its ‘one-China’ principle.

The U.K. should ‘earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, uphold the one-China principle, stop any forms of official contacts with Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces,’ Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing.

China has lashed out at the UK for sending trade minister Greg Hands (pictured in 2015) for talks in Taiwan, insisting ‘official contacts’ with the self-governing island republic must cease

The British government said Mr Hands was on a two-day visit during which he would meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and co-host the 25th annual trade talks between the sides. 

The discussions will be aimed at ‘boosting trade’ and promoting UK expertise in hydrogen and offshore wind.

Beijing has sought to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, imposing visa bans and other forms of retaliation against foreign officials and governments that have reached out in the past. 

Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with just 14 nations and is excluded from the United Nations and other major multinational groupings at Beijing’s insistence.

Yet, its thriving democracy, high-tech economy and strategic location in the Asia-Pacific have drawn strong support in spite of Beijing’s condemnations and threats.

Following a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and second in line to the presidency, China fired missiles over Taiwan into the Western Pacific and positioned aircraft and ships nearby in a virtual blockade of the island.

Taiwanese military personnel maneuver during a live fire exercise in Penghu, Taiwan, amid the threat from China 

Such moves appear to have had little effect and visits from European and North American elected officials have continued.

Referring to Tsai’s ruling party and its strong backing from the U.S. and other Western democracies, Zhao warned Taiwan officials that ‘their attempt to seek independence with foreign support is doomed to fail.’

Beijing’s close ties with Moscow following the Russian invasion of Ukraine have complicated matters further.

Latvia and Estonia left a Chinese-backed forum aimed at boosting relations with Eastern European countries following China´s boosting of its relations with Russia. China has refused to criticize Russia over its attack on Ukraine and has condemned economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West.

Russia’s struggles in Ukraine have meanwhile refocused attention on China’s possible military intentions toward Taiwan. That has prompted a new emphasis on the island’s fighting forces and technology to thwart Chinese aggression.

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