China will “take off the gloves” and take strong action if President-elect Trump continues to ‘provoke’ Beijing over Taiwan once he assumes office, state-run newspapers said on Monday.
The US president-elect told the Wall Street Journal over the weekend the One China policy was up for negotiation, in his latest comment on the issue.
Trump had already annoyed China by accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen after he won the presidential election.
“If Trump is determined to use this gambit in taking office, a period of fierce, damaging interactions will be unavoidable, as Beijing will have no choice but to take off the gloves,” the English-language China Daily said.
The Global Times, an influential state-run tabloid, echoed the China Daily, saying Beijing would take “strong countermeasures” against Trump’s attempt to “impair” the “One China” principle.
“The Chinese mainland will be prompted to speed up Taiwan reunification and mercilessly combat those who advocate Taiwan’s independence,” the paper said in an editorial.
China first warned Trump on the issue last month after he said he did not see why Washington must “be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.”
