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China tells US it will not be scared off by sanctions over Taiwan
- Foreign vice-minister Le Yucheng tells forum that ‘unimaginable consequences’ will result if Washington pushes the issue
- Le also denies that China had advance knowledge of or supported the invasion of Ukraine and blames America for fuelling conflict
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The United States will face “unimaginable consequences” if it plays the Taiwan card and Beijing will not be intimidated by sanctions like those on Russia, a Chinese foreign vice-minister has said.
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Le Yucheng told an online security forum on Friday evening that it was “ridiculous” to blame China for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accused the US of sacrificing Ukraine for its own geopolitical interests.
China has been criticised for not condemning Russia’s invasion, and the US and its allies have expressed concern over the security of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province be to reunified with the mainland – by force if necessary.
In response to American warnings that China would face similar sanctions to those placed on Russia if it attacked Taiwan, Le said “China must be unified, and will be unified”, and sanctions and isolation “could absolutely not scare China”.
“What kind of storms haven’t we weathered in the more than 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China?” he said, adding that in the past few years the US had already taken coercive measures – such as tariffs, reducing cooperation, arresting people on espionage charges – but was not able to break China.
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“Not only has China not collapsed, but we are still thriving with each passing day. What else do we have to fear?”
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