China has expressed its readiness to work with maximum efforts for peaceful "unification" with Taiwan, reports „Reuters“, reports News.bg.
The position of the Chinese Foreign Ministry is in response to a statement by US President Donald Trump, who on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him by phone that China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in power.
„China will not allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China by any means“, ministry spokesman Mao Ning emphasized at a regular briefing.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan to be its territory and for the past five years has stepped up military pressure around the island, conducting regular military exercises and daily patrols.
Beijing has never shied away from using force to bring the island under its control, and any attack on Taiwan could spark a wider regional war.