US Should Deal With Taiwan Carefully to Avoid Problems With China - Ambassador

The United States should conduct its policy in regard to Taiwan carefully in order to avoid problem issues in ties between Washington and Beijing, China's Ambassador to Russia Li Hui told Sputnik in an interview.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On December 2, US President-elect Donald Trump became the first US president or president-elect to speak with a Taiwanese leader in an official capacity since 1979. On December 11, Trump said he would not be bound by the US "one China" policy regarding relations with Taiwan.

"The United States should carefully and adequately address the issue of Taiwan in order to avoid unnecessary obstacles in the China-US relations," Li said.

He added that the Chinese side insists that the United States should strictly adhere to the "one China" policy.

In 1949, the Chinese Nationalist government was defeated by the Communists and had to flee from continental China to Taiwan, where it formed a separate government and declared itself to be the Republic of China.

Since then, relations between China and Taiwan have been strained, as China refuses to recognize Taiwan as a separate and independent political and diplomatic entity.