Media report: China warned Blinken about Taiwan election

Beijing has reportedly told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the top candidate could lead to new tensions in the Taipei elections.

Chinese officials have warned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the actions of Taiwan's "pro-independence" Vice President Lai Ching-te could escalate tensions between Beijing and Taipei, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The conversation reportedly took place during Blinken's visit to China last week, where he met with President Xi Jinping.

According to the WSJ, Blinken was asked whether the U.S. considered Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a friend and whether Washington had a "vested interest" in the outcome of the presidential election, which will be held on the island in January.

Blinken reportedly insisted that the U.S. would be "impartial" in the election and that Washington did not support outside interference in the electoral process.

Beijing, which considers self-governing Taiwan to be its sovereign territory, has repeatedly accused the U.S. of supporting "renegade" politicians in Taipei. Although the U.S. has not established formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, U.S. politicians have met with local officials. Beijing considers such contacts, as well as the sale of US weapons to Taiwan, a violation of the one-China principle.

Following then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022 and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's trip to the US in March 2023, Beijing held large-scale military exercises around the island.

Lai, who is currently leading in the polls for Taiwan's 2024 presidential election, has described himself in the past as a "pragmatic political worker for Taiwanese independence." He later clarified that he did not want to change the current political status of Taiwan.

"I would like to emphasize once again that Taiwan is already an independent and sovereign nation, and therefore we see no need to further declare Taiwan's independence," Lai said in January, according to Focus Taiwan.

Blinken traveled to China on June 18 and 19. Both sides had expressed cautious optimism about the outcome of the negotiations. However, Beijing strongly condemned the remarks of US President Joe Biden, who called Xi a "dictator" shortly after Blinken's return.

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