CHINA today said a visit by a top US cabinet member to Taiwan will endanger peace and stability in the region, with relations between the two powers at historic lows.

Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei said US Health Secretary Alex Azar will lead a delegation to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of China and has vowed to one day seize.

“China firmly opposes official exchanges between the US and Taiwan,” Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular briefing.

“We urge the US to abide by the ‘one China’ principle… to avoid seriously endangering Sino-US relations, as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The US switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979.

It remains the leading arms supplier to the island, but has historically been cautious about holding official contact with it.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the trip, and said Azar will meet President Tsai Ing-wen.

Neither side has said when the trip will take place. – AFP, August 5, 2020.