China slams US' finger-pointing over Lai Ching-te's Africa overflight

In response to the United States' latest remarks regarding the overflight of Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's aircraft, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun expressed China's "firm opposition and unequivocal rejection" on Thursday.

The US State Department accused China of influencing three African nations — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — to deny Lai's aircraft passage through their airspace.

"The US has been pointing fingers at China's legitimate actions in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and has been unfairly criticizing the just measures taken by relevant countries to uphold the one-China principle. This is nothing but confusing right and wrong and reversing black and white," Guo said at a daily news briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

"China urges the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, and to stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China's internal affairs," he said.

Beijing calls on Washington to stop helping Taiwan consolidate so-called "diplomatic relations" and to stop sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, he added.