In reaction to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Friday, the foreign ministry announced further actions against Washington, including the suspension of climate negotiations, hours after it had previously declared penalties against the US House speaker.
The steps include postponing upcoming phone talks and meetings between Chinese and US defense chiefs, whose future dates had not been disclosed, as well as canceling the yearly naval gatherings arranged in accordance with the China-US military maritime consultation system.
According to Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, at a briefing on Friday, China has also halted cooperation on the return of illegal immigrants, legal help in criminal cases, and the fight against transnational crimes.
It put a stop to its already shaky anti-drug collaboration with the US. As Beijing and Washington cannot agree on how to address the issue, the US has accused China of failing to prevent synthetic opioids from entering the US.
Despite rising tensions in recent years, China’s Foreign Ministry also announced that it will halt climate change negotiations.
The actions follow Beijing’s announcement that it will punish Pelosi and her family for visiting Taiwan, as well as an increase in military exercises and warplane intrusions near the island.
China’s Foreign Ministry denounced Pelosi earlier on Friday for what it called her virulent and aggressive conduct, claiming that her visit to Taiwan amounted to a dangerous intrusion into China’s domestic affairs.
According to a Friday statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan in disregard of China’s serious concerns and firm opposition, seriously interfering in China’s internal affairs, seriously undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously trampling on the one-China principle, and seriously threatening the peace and stability across Taiwan Strait.”
The statement said, “In response to Pelosi’s vicious and provocative actions, China has decided to impose sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family,”
Pelosi spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials during her visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, which incensed China’s Communist Party, which regards the island as its property despite never having held it under its authority.
Pelosi adopted a tough tone during a press conference in Tokyo, the final stop on her Asia tour, saying China had tried to isolate Taiwan from the international community but would not block US officials from visiting there.
