Recent reports in the Chinese media indicate that the US Republican Party, during its August 30-September 2 convention, is likely to adopt again its 2000 platform on Taiwan and related issues. The platform states that China is a strategic competitor of the US rather than a partner, and that although the US recognizes that there is only one China, it will sell?arms to Taiwan.

China firmly opposes any words or deeds that go against the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiqués, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan at a Beijing press conference on Sunday.

Kong said that proper handling of the Taiwan issue is key to the development of a constructive and cooperative Sino-US partnership. The three joint communiqués are the political basis for Sino-US ties.

The one-China policy is a consensus reached by both the Republican and Democratic parties of the United States, and is also the commitment made by all the previous US governments, Kong noted.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2004)