BEIJING, August 30. /TASS/. Statements on Taiwan’s independence that appeared in a document published by the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee do not correspond to reality, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.
"The [British] report mentioning Taiwan’s independence contradicts the facts. China calls on the UK Parliament to adhere to the 'One China' principle and the general legal norms of international relations," the diplomat said in commenting on the Foreign Affairs Committee report, the publication of which coincided with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s visit to China, the first such visit by London’s top diplomat in five years.
Wang also called upon London to respect core Chinese interests and stop sending the wrong signals to the separatist forces seeking Taiwan’s "independence."
Earlier, the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, or lower house of the UK Parliament, had circulated a report saying that Taiwan is de facto an independent state and has all the characteristics attributable to a separate country.
On August 30, UK Foreign Office head Cleverly arrived on a visit to Beijing, where, as was reported earlier, he expected to raise the issue of the Ukrainian conflict and cybersecurity. According to the top UK diplomat, this marked the first visit by a British foreign secretary to China in five years. Cleverly is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and Vice President Han Zheng. As the Foreign Office pointed out, during his talks in China, Cleverly expects to say that "China’s global significance comes with a responsibility on international security." In this connection, he will call upon Beijing to contribute to ending the Ukrainian conflict, "diffusing tensions in the South China Sea and ceasing malign activity in cyberspace."