Q: It is reported that US Deputy Secretary of State Armitage talked about China's rise and the Taiwan question during the TV interview of the Public Broadcasting Service, holding that China-US relations were not a "zero-sum" game. He said that it was agreed by all that there's but one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China. None of the laws obligates the US to defend Taiwan. I wish to hear your comment on this.

A: China and the US should develop constructive and cooperative relations on the basis of the principles in the three joint communiqués between them. The two countries should work together to promote world peace and prosperity.

There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China. We will continue to uphold the basic principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" and strive for the national reunification through peaceful means with our utmost sincerity and efforts. But by no means will we tolerate the "Taiwan independence", nor will we allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China by any means or on any pretext.