A Chinese government spokesperson said Beijing filed a diplomatic protest with Washington over the president's remarks at the weekend.
The U.S. has no formal relations with Taiwan, but maintains a defense and economic partnership with the island under its"one China" policy, which recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China while not explicitly supporting its claim to Taiwan.
The geopolitical aspects of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship often capture the most attention, but economic ties between the pair also are significant. Taiwan was the U.S.'s eighth largest goods trading partner in 2021, the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration said in a fact sheet published last week. The U.S.'s No. 1 trading partner is China.
The White House told CBS that U.S. policy on Taiwan hadn't changed, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing had filed a"We are ready to strive for the prospect of peaceful unification with utmost sincerity and utmost efforts," she told a regular press briefing on Monday."At the same time, we will not tolerate any activity aimed at splitting the country and will reserve the option to take all necessary measures.
Mao's statement represented a standard response, but the Chinese foreign ministry's website struck her comments from its official transcripts in both Chinese and English—a sign of the highly sensitive nature of the Biden's pledge, the fourth of his presidency.