BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official has called for “resolutely” cracking down on “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and opposing interference by external forces this year to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, state agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.
The ruling communist party’s fourth-ranked leader Wang Huning made the remarks at the 2026 work conference on Taiwan affairs held in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
In his address to the annual meeting, Wang also urged support for “patriotic and unified forces” in Taiwan and said the government will facilitate and enhance people-to-people and grassroots exchanges across the Taiwan strait.
China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objection of the government in Taipei. In recent years, Beijing has ramped up its military pressure against the island including holding of war games.
Beijing has repeatedly warned countries including the U.S. against meddling in Taiwan issue, which it said is its internal affair.
In a call with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, China’s President Xi Jinping said the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations and Washington must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence.
The Trump administration announced in December the largest ever U.S. weapons package for the island worth $11.1 billion.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Sonali Paul and Michael Perry)
