China lodges complaint as US Senate panel advances Taiwan bill

BEIJING — China said on Thursday that it had lodged "solemn representations" with the United States, after a US Senate panel advanced legislation that would enhance US military support for Taiwan.

If the bill continues to go forward, it would affect US-China relations, Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular media briefing.

Mao also described the new US legislation as sending "a serious false signal to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence."

"China is firmly opposed to this and has made solemn representations to the US side that there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory, and that China will unswervingly promote the complete reunification of the country," the spokesperson said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by 17-5, despite concerns about the bill in US President Joe Biden's administration and anger about the measure from Beijing.

The bill comes over one month after China conducted its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan in response to an earlier visit to the self-ruled island by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. — Reuters