On the afternoon of March 6, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan gave a press conference during which he answered questions from Chinese and foreign correspondents on issues concerning Chinese foreign policy and international situation.
Q: (Voice of America) I was wondering as you work to craft relations with the new US administration, members of that US administration are discussing the quality and quantity of weapons that they may sell to Taiwan. I am sure you are well aware that the decision on that is due in April. If those weapons include the Aegis ship or ships, what effect will that have on relations between Washington and Beijing?
A: The Taiwan question is a very sensitive and very important question in China-US relations. In all frankness, what the United States have done on this question is adequate to show that now the US factor is an important outside factor in the way of the peaceful reunification of the Chinese motherland. If the US side continues to fail to honor its commitments on this question, if the US side continues to insist on selling advanced weapons to Taiwan including particularly the Aegis missile destroyer and the Pac-III anti-missile systems, that would send a very wrong signal to the Taiwan authorities. It will encourage a very small number of people, the Taiwan independence elements to continue to engage in separatist activities. It would only feed their arrogance. And furthermore, that move by the US will endanger China-US relations and aggravate the tension across the Taiwan Straits and it will not work in any interest of the US itself. The US side should come to the recognition of the serious dangers involved. It should rein in its wild horse right on the side of the precipice.