China urges Washington to prevent TAIPEI Act from becoming law

China on Thursday expressed resolute opposition to the passing of the TAIPEI Act of 2019by the United States House of Representatives, urging Washington to take concrete measures to prevent the act from becoming law.

The act says the US government should consider increasing or decreasing economic, security, or diplomatic engagement with another nation as a result of an action taken by that nation to either strengthen or undermine ties with Taiwan.

The act seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, adding that it goes against international law and basic norms governing international relations.

The one-China principle is the prevailing trend recognized by international consensus, and altogether 180 countries have established diplomatic relations with China, Zhao said at a daily news conference.

He noted that the US established diplomatic ties with China on the basis of the one-China principle more than 40 years ago; however, it is going against the trend of the times by thwarting other sovereign nations' pursuit of normal relations with China, which is unreasonable.

"We urge the US to handle issues relating to Taiwan prudently to avoid damaging bilateral relations and cross-Straits peace and stability," he said.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019.

The bill, previously passed by the Senate in October 2019, now needs a second approval from the Senate due to textual changes, before it is presented to the US president to sign into law.