China congratulates Trump – and warns to tread carefully on Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to Donald Trump ­congratulating him on becoming the United States president, the foreign ministry said on Monday, as it warned Washington to abide by the one-China policy.

Trump’s pledge last week to put “America first” has fanned fears that the US will take an isolationist path, leaving China to fill the vacuum. A senior Chinese diplomat said yesterday that China did not want to assume the mantle of world leadership but could be forced to take on that role if others stepped back.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Xi congratulated Trump on his inauguration, but called on Washington to respect the sensitivity of Taiwan issues.

“Healthy, stable and developing relations between China and the US are beneficial to the people of the two countries as well as the whole world,” Hua said.

“On Taiwan, the one-China policy is the premise of ... Sino-US relations. The US government should limit communication ­between the US and Taiwan to an unofficial category.”

Beijing’s stand on territorial sovereignty was firm, Hua said.