WASHINGTON, August 17. /TASS/. Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the US, on Wednesday said that the US should draw lessons from the recent Taiwan Strait tensions and drop any further provocations of China.
He urged the US to draw lessons from the situation around Taiwan, "to stop pointing fingers at China, stop using words and actions that escalate the tension, stop using Taiwan to contain China, and not allow ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces to go further down the dangerous path," the Global Times reported, saying the ambassador had spoken with reporters in Washington.
"China had made the utmost efforts to prevent this crisis from being imposed on China," the diplomat said, according to the report. "We had warned that if [US House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi made the visit, there would be very serious consequences."
Tensions around the Taiwan Strait escalated following a trip to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 2-3. China’s armed forces responded by conducting major military maneuvers involving missile firing in six maritime areas around Taiwan.
Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the Kuomintang’s remaining forces headed by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) were defeated in the Chinese Civil War and took refuge on the island. Taiwan has preserved the flag and several other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed before the Communists took over the mainland. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces, a stance supported by most other countries including Russia.