China summons US envoy, announces economic measures over Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

China continued on Wednesday to express anger over US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

With foreign minister Wang Yi calling her tour a “complete farce”, hours after Beijing summoned US envoy Nicholas Burns to lodge “strong protests” late on Tuesday.

Wang, also state councillor, said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was a “complete farce” and “those who play with fire will perish by it and those who offend China will be punished”, Chinese official media reported on Wednesday.

“The United States is violating China’s sovereignty under the guise of so-called democracy,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Cambodia.

“Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen and others ride the coat-tails of the US and act against the noble cause of the Chinese nation,” he added.

It was Wang’s second statement on the controversial visit — the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years – which has triggered a furious and coordinated response from China involving top diplomats and the military.

An eyewitness told HT that there was unusually heavy security presence around the US embassy, located near other embassies in an upmarket area in Beijing, on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday, US envoy Burns was summoned to the Chinese foreign ministry by vice-foreign minister Xie Feng soon after Pelosi’s flight landed in Taiwan, a self-governed democracy claimed by China, and as tension mounted between Beijing and Washington over the visit.

“Noting that Pelosi risks universal condemnation to deliberately provoke and play with fire, Xie said that this is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques,” China’s official Xinhua news agency said in a report on Wednesday.

“The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious. China will not sit idly by,” Xie told Burns.

“It (the US) deleted the key expressions such as Taiwan is part of China from the US State Department website, put Taiwan in its so-called ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’, openly upgraded its ties with Taiwan and increased arms sales to the region and supported separatist activities for ‘Taiwan independence’,” Burns was told by the Chinese minister.

China’s sharp diplomatic rhetoric was accompanied by People’s Liberation Army-led intense military live-fire drills all around Taiwan involving missiles, warships and fighter aircraft on Wednesday.

The drills are set to continue through the week.

The PLA carried out naval-air joint drills in the north, southwest and southeast waters and airspace off Taiwan.

“In addition, combat troops under the (eastern) theatre command will conduct long-range strike live shooting in the Taiwan Strait, and conventional missile firepower test launching in the eastern waters off the Taiwan Island,” China’s defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The eastern theatre command has organised troops of multiple services and arms to conduct targeted training exercises of joint blockade, strikes on land and maritime targets, airspace control operations as well as the live firing of precision-guided munitions,” Major General Gu Zhong, deputy chief of staff of the command said in the statement.

Separately, Beijing on Wednesday also announced a number of economic and trade measures against Taiwan including the suspension of importing citrus fruits, chilled white striped hairtail a fish that’s widely popular in China — and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan starting August 3, China’s customs said.

“The entry of citrus fruits including grapefruits, lemons and oranges, as well as chilled large-head hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan will be suspended in accordance with the mainland’s relevant regulations, and food safety requirements,” said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan affairs office of the state council.

Ma added that China will also suspend exporting natural sand to Taiwan from August 3.

Ma also announced targeted sanctions against Taiwanese companies, prohibiting mainland organisations, enterprises or individuals from any transaction or cooperation with Speedtech Energy, Hyweb Technology, Skyla, SkyEyes GPS Technology and other enterprises.

Ma said that these companies have donated money to the foundations like the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and International Cooperation and Development Fund, organisations Beijing accuse of fanning Taiwan independence.