BEIJING, April 4. /TASS/. China stands categorically against Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen’s transiting through the United States and her reported plan to meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"We insist that the US side should respect the One China principle," Mao Ning emphasized at a briefing. "China is resolutely against Tsai Ing-wen’s transiting through the United States, and we are also against her meeting with the third-highest ranking official in the United States," she said.

Beijing views such a transit as well as a potential meeting with McCarthy as a major violation of its "One China" principle and Chinese-US agreements on Taiwan, the Chinese diplomat said. "China will keep a close eye on the situation, while defending its sovereignty as well as territorial integrity in a resolute and effective way," she insisted.

On Monday, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby called on China not to overreact to Tsai’s US transit, which he described as "normal."

Last week, the Washington Post reported that McCarthy, a Republican congressman representing California’s 20th district, would hold a meeting with Tsai on April 5.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in China’s civil war. Taiwan has preserved the flag and several other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed before the Communists took control of the mainland. According to Beijing’s official position, which is supported by most countries, including Russia, the island of Taiwan is a province of China.