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Latest twist in Taiwan spat sees top China envoy and White House clash over Pelosi visit aftermath
- Exchange of strong statements in Washington follows summoning of Ambassador Qin Gang to condemn Beijing’s ‘overreaction’ to Nancy Pelosi’s visit
- Chinese embassy counters that US is the ‘troublemaker’ making ‘unreasonable accusations’ in dispute centred on fate of self-ruled island
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Unabating tensions between Washington and Beijing over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan and China’s subsequent military drills encircling the island led the White House to summon the Chinese ambassador to blast Beijing’s “overreaction” to the visit, prompting the envoy to “sternly” reject the criticism.
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The strong statements reveal that the rancour and unease centred on the Taiwan Strait have seeped thousands of miles away into the halls of power in Washington.
The two superpowers sharply disagree over just about every detail of the events of this week – not only blaming each other for triggering the hostility felt across the region, but even asserting contradictory claims about whether China’s neighbours side with Beijing or Washington.
The White House told reporters on Friday it had “made clear” to Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the US, that Beijing’s actions “were a concern, of course, not only to us, but to Taiwan and to the rest of the world”, according to National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, citing the meeting with the envoy a day before.
Taiwanese president calls mainland China military exercises ‘irresponsible’ as PLA missiles fly
“We wanted to make sure that he knew how much the international community was also opposed to this,” Kirby said.
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