China said on Thursday that Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reaffirmed in his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, that New Delhi “has always adhered to the ‘one China policy’ and that Taiwan is part of China”, in apparent contradiction to the version offered by the Indian government.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan a “rebel province”, upholds the “one China principle” as the central axis of its foreign policy: that the People’s Republic is the sole legitimate representative of China in the world and that Taiwan is part of its territory.
However, many countries, including India, apply the “One China policy”, which recognizes the People’s Republic as the sole government of China on the international stage, but avoids taking a position on the sovereignty or definitive legal status of Taiwan.
In a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated this Thursday that “China is surprised by the so-called clarification from the Indian side.”
“In fact, during the meeting, Foreign Minister Jaishankar stated that India has always adhered to the ‘one China policy’ and that Taiwan is part of China,” the spokesperson noted.
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“It seems that some people in India are trying to undermine China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan issue and hinder the improvement of bilateral relations. China expresses serious concern and firm opposition to this,” he added.
Mao underscored that “there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory”, and stressed that “this is a broad consensus in the international community, including India”.
The spokesperson also urged New Delhi to “abide by the ‘one China principle’, handle sensitive issues appropriately, and work to promote the stable development of relations between China and India.”
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Sources in the Indian government had indicated on Tuesday that “there is no change” in their position on Taiwan, following reports by the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency that attributed to Jaishankar an explicit recognition that “Taiwan is part of China”.
India, which does not maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei, has avoided since 2010 reaffirming publicly the “one China policy”, in response to what it considers a lack of respect from Beijing towards its sovereignty in Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, which are in dispute.
Ambivalence intensified after the 2020 border clashes, when New Delhi upgraded its representation in Taiwan and Indian parliamentarians participated in the virtual inauguration of then-island president Tsai Ing-wen (2016-2024).
Wang Yi’s visit this week is part of an attempt to bring the two countries closer, amid trade tensions with the United States.
