China has expressed “surprise” over clarification by India over External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s reported comments related to the One-China policy during his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week.
India had earlier said there is no change in its position on Taiwan, and New Delhi’s relationship with it focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties.
“We are surprised at India’s clarification,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing. She was replying to a question from China’s official media on reports of India’s clarification over Jaishankar’s remarks.
The clarification came after the Chinese foreign ministry reportedly misquoted Jaishankar as saying during his talks with Wang that Taiwan was part of China.
The Chinese spokesperson on Thursday claimed that Beijing finds it “inconsistent with the facts”.
“It would seem that some people in India have tried to undermine China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan question and impede the improvement of China-India relations. China expresses serious concern and firmly opposes that,” Mao said.
“Let me stress that there is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is a prevailing consensus among the international community, including India,” she claimed.
