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U.S. seeks calm as China fumes over Taiwan arms

06:00, 1969-Dec-31 .. 0 comments .. Link

U.S. seeks calm as China fumes over Taiwan arms U.S. seeks calm as China fumes over Taiwan arms The arms sales, the latest by the United States Military Flags but the first by the Obama administration, has added to a litany of strains between the world's biggest and third-biggest economies, including the value of China's currency, trade protectionism, Internet freedoms and Tibet.

The official China Daily said U.S. weapons sales to the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own, "inevitably cast a long shadow on Sino-U.S. relations."

"China's response, no matter how vehement, is justified. No country worthy of respect can sit idle #x while its national security is endangered and core interests damaged," the English-language newspaper said in an editorial.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the U.S.-China relationship was important and "I don't think that either country can afford to simply walk away from the other."

Gibbs said any sanctions against the companies involved in the arms sales, a move threatened by China for the first time,Diamond tools, would not be warranted.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognizing " Military Flagsone China," and says it wants the two sides to settle their differences peacefully. The United States remains Taiwan's biggest backer and is obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island's defense .

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the arms sale decision reflected "long-standing commitments to provide for Taiwan's defensive needs."

"We will, as always, pursue our interests but we will do it in a way that we think allows for positive and cooperative relations with China," he told reporters.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended the arms sale, telling reporters he hoped China's decision to protest by curtailing bilateral military contacts would be temporary and that he still planned to visit China later this year.

"Stability is enhanced by contact between our military and a greater understanding Military Flags of each other's strategies, so I hope that if there is a downturn,#x that it will be a temporary one and that we can get back to strengthening this relationship," Gates said. 相关的主题文章：