CHINA: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi condemns United States in latest censure of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan

Record ID: 1375188

  • Title: CHINA: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi condemns United States in latest censure of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan
  • Date: 1st February 2010
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 31, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN BEIJING UNITED STATES NATIONAL FLAG FLYING VARIOUS OF GUARD STANDING IN FRONT OF IMAGE OF UNITED STATES PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IMAGE OF OBAMA SHAKING HANDS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO GUARDS IN FRONT OF EMBLEM OF UNITED STATES EMBASSY EMBLEM OF UNITED STATES EMBASSY GUARD WATCHING CLOTHES SALESMAN FROM ANHUI PROVINCE CHEN WEILONG WALKING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CLOTHES SALESMAN FROM ANHUI PROVINCE CHEN WEILONG SAYING: "If these companies are going to supply weapons for Taiwan then of course China will place some sanctions on them. That's how it should be, don't you think? Because by supplying Taiwan with weapons they are helping Taiwan attack the mainland. So of course the mainland will be unfriendly to them." PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) BEIJING RESIDENT LIU QING SAYING: "I'm not that concerned, because this is not the first time this has happened. It was like this before. So I don't think it's such a big or serious issue. I think at the moment there are more economic problems, and not that many purely political problems." EXTERIOR OF MARKET PLACE WOMAN BUYING FOOD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN MARKET PLACE WOMAN STANDING BESIDE CHINESE NEW YEAR DECORATIONS
  • Embargoed: 15th February 2010 22:03
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA250YKEPUIVIW7X6K4Y7H57YAA
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: China on Sunday (January 31) stepped up censure of planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, as Beijing residents agree with calls to boycott top U.S. exporter Boeing and other firms involved in the sales.
    Although the Obama administration defended the package worth about $6.4 billion as necessary to boost regional security, the sharp reaction from Beijing threatened to deepen rifts between the world's biggest and third-biggest economies.
    China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Sunday said the United States had "damaged China's national security and great task of reunification with Taiwan."
    Yang, travelling in Cyprus, said China and the United States had held many discussions about the arms sales, but Washington had ignored Beijing's demand the sales be stopped.
    "The United States' misdeed has seriously violated agreements with China, especially the August 17th Communiqu����. The U.S had crudely intervened with China's internal affairs and damaged China's national security and great task of reunification and it is against U.S pledge to support the peaceful cross-strait development. China is strongly against U.S' move. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi stressed that the United States should truly respect China's core interests and major concerns, and immediately rescind the mistaken decision to sell arms to Taiwan, and stop selling arms to Taiwan in order to avoid damaging broader China-U.S. relations," China's state television news presenter cited Yang's official statement.
    He was the most senior Chinese official so far to publicly denounce the arms sales.
    China has for years opposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which it regards as part of its territory.
    For the first time, however, Beijing sought to pressure the United States by punishing those private companies whose arms are involved in the Taiwan sales.
    China said it would impose unspecified sanctions on companies involved and reduce international cooperation with the United States unless it canceled the new arms package.
    Beijing planned to postpone or partially halt some military cooperation, including a series of visits planned for this year, among them U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates's planned trip to China, meetings between top military commanders, and mutual visits by naval ships, Xinhua reported.
    Among the sales, subject to congressional review, would be Black Hawk utility helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp-built and Raytheon Co.-integrated Patriot missile defenses, and Harpoon land- and sea-attack missiles built by Boeing Co.
    Beijing resident denounced the U.S. move and called for placing of sanctions on U.S. companies involved in the sales deal, as Chinese internet websites, including a Chinese web portal, Sohu, launched an online petition protesting the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
    Chen Weilong, a clothes salesman from Anhui province agrees with the sanctions.
    "If these companies are going to supply weapons for Taiwan then of course China will place some sanctions on them. That's how it should be, don't you think? Because by supplying Taiwan with weapons they are helping Taiwan attack the mainland. So of course the mainland will be unfriendly to them," said Chen.
    Others like Liu Qing, a Beijing resident, said because such incident had happened before, she was not too concerned about the deals.
    "I'm not that concerned, because this is not the first time this has happened. It was like this before. So I don't think it's such a big or serious issue. I think at the moment there are more economic problems, and not that many purely political problems," said Liu.
    Representatives of Sikorsky, Raytheon and Boeing either had no immediate comment or did not respond to questions left for them. A Lockheed spokesman referred a caller to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which formally announced the sales plans. An agency representative could not immediately be reached.
    Boeing has big commercial interests in China, the world's most populous market, including commercial aircraft sales. United Technologies also has significant business in China, where it sells Carrier brand heating and air-conditioning, Otis elevators and escalators and other products.
    The other arms makers appear to have more limited exposure to Chinese sanctions.
    Although they cooperate on counter-terrorism, nuclear arms control, climate change and other major security issues, Beijing and Washington are at odds over trade as well as China's tight control of its currency, policies in Tibet and control of the Internet.
    Since 1949 when Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing the mainland to Communist rebels, Beijing has demanded Taiwan accept unification, threatening to use force if necessary.
    But Beijing has shown no sign of trying to use its huge pile of U.S. dollar assets to pressure Washington, or impose broader trade penalties -- both steps that would undercut China's own economic strength.
    The feud could damage broader diplomacy between the two permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Washington has sought China's backing in its nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea and in fighting climate change, and is preparing for a world summit on nuclear weapons in April.
    ENDS.
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