HONG KONG, November 14. /TASS/. The risks of a military operation will rise greatly, if the United States violates the one-China principle over Taiwan, said former Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tankai.

"The key is the one-China principle. As long as the principle is still there, as long as nobody is trying to challenge this one-China principle, there’s no need for the use of force. And under that basis within the framework of the one-China principle, everything else can be negotiated," the diplomat told the Family Business Summit, a closed-door event that was held in Hong Kong.

"But if this one-China principle is undermined and challenged, then the risk of war will increase very much," the South China Morning Post quoted Cui as saying. "I just hope that on the United States’ side, US politicians would also have sufficient wisdom or even common sense not to advocate for war so easily," he added.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China.

On November 15-17, San Francisco will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the summit. Earlier, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the two leaders are going to discuss various topics, including the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the restoration of communication channels in the defense sphere between Washington and Beijing.