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China lodges complaint over Trump-Taiwan call

By Stephen Collinson, Nicole Gaouette, Elise Labott and
Laura Smith-Spark, CNN
Updated 0233 GMT (1033 HKT) December 4, 2016
(CNN) China's foreign ministry said Saturday it has
lodged a complaint with the United States over a
controversial phone call between President-elect Donald
Trump and Taiwan's President that has overturned decades
of diplomatic protocol.

Story highlights
NEW: Taiwan's Presidential spokesman says
the phone call was agreed to by both parties

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and, since

1979, the US has acknowledged Beijing's claim that Taiwan
is part of China, with US-China relations governed by a set
of protocols known as the "one China" policy.

Donald Trump is "well aware of what US

policy has been," his campaign manager says

This means there are no formal diplomatic relations

between the United States and Taiwan -- so Trump's decision to take Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's call
could risk a major upset.
"We have noticed relevant reports and lodged solemn representation with the relevant side in the United
States," said a statement Saturday from China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.
"I must point out that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of the Chinese
territory ... The 'one China' principle is the political foundation of China-US relations.

Trump risks antagonizing China after call with Taiwan 03:30

"We urge the relevant side in the US to adhere to the 'one China' policy, abide by the pledges in the three joint
China-US communiques, and handle issues related to Taiwan carefully and properly to avoid causing
unnecessary interference to the overall China-U.S. relationship."
Earlier Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
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labeled the phone call "a shenanigan by the Taiwan side"

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Earlier Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi labeled the phone call "a shenanigan by the Taiwan side"
when he was asked about it on the sidelines of a foreign policy seminar.
"The 'one China' policy is the cornerstone of a healthy China-U.S. relationship. I hope this political foundation
won't be disrupted or damaged," he said.
Former US envoy: Trump 'winging it' with Taiwan call

First time in decades

Trump's transition team said Friday that the President-elect had chatted with Tsai, who passed along her
congratulations.
"During the discussion, they noted the close economic, political, and security ties (existing) between Taiwan
and the United States. President-elect Trump also congratulated President Tsai on becoming President of
Taiwan earlier this year."
The chat marks the rst publicly reported call between a US President or President-elect and the leader of
Taiwan since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979, said Bonnie Glaser, a China
expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It is perhaps the rst major sign of the unpredictability that Trump has vowed to bring to long-held US relations
with the rest of the world.

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The call, rst reported by the Financial Times, risks throwing US-China relations into a tailspin before Trump
takes the oath of o ce January 20.
And it has prompted questions over whether Trump intends a shift in US policy, or if this was a blunder by a
team with limited experience of international a airs.
Trump emphasized Friday night that Taipei initiated the call.

"The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!"
tweeted the President-elect.

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DonaldJ.Trump

Follow

@realDonaldTrump

ThePresidentofTaiwanCALLEDMEtodaytowishme
congratulationsonwinningthePresidency.Thankyou!
8:44AM3Dec2016

23,945

104,898

He soon followed up by tweeting, "Interesting how the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment
but I should not accept a congratulatory call."

DonaldJ.Trump

Follow

@realDonaldTrump

InterestinghowtheU.S.sellsTaiwanbillionsofdollarsofmilitary
equipmentbutIshouldnotacceptacongratulatorycall.
9:41AM3Dec2016

37,598

115,257

Taiwan's President published a statement Friday night about the phone call on an o cial website, which she
described as an "intimate and relaxed conversation" lasting 10 minutes.
The two also shared their views on important policy points, the statement said, according to a translation, "in
particular, to promote the domestic economy and strengthen national defense, allowing the people better lives
and a guarantee of security. The two briey exchanged opinions on the situation in the Asia region."
According to Taiwan's Presidential spokesman Alex Huang, Huang told CNN via text message that both sides
agreed ahead of time before making contact, but would not give any further details including exactly when they
agreed to the call.
Global Headaches: The 10 biggest issues facing Donald Trump
Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on "AC360" that she wouldn't go
beyond what the transition team statement said. But the President-elect was fully aware of the call's
implications, Conway suggested.

"He either will disclose or not disclose the full contents

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of that conversation but he's well aware of what US

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"He either will disclose or not disclose the full contents of that conversation but he's well aware of what US
policy has been," Conway said.
The Trump Organization is also denying reports that it is considering building luxury hotels in the Taiwanese city
of Taoyuan after the city's mayor was quoted last month as saying a representative did visit.
The mayor Cheng Wen-tsan told local media the Trump representative did visit in September and that
company was interested in developing there.
"There have been no authorized visits to Taiwan on behalf of Trump Hotels for the purposes of development nor
are there any active conversations. Trump Organization is not planning any expansion into Taiwan," a
spokeswoman for the Trump Organization Saturday told CNN.
The spokeswoman, who asked not to be identied by name, added that the Trump Organization employee
who was there was not part of the development team and was not there for those reasons but for sales
purposes for existing Trump hotels.

'No change'
By Friday night, China had already reached out to the Obama administration. White House o cials declined to
comment on diplomatic discussions.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said "there is no change to our longstanding
policy on cross-Strait issues."
Insults y when Trump, Clinton aides meet
"We remain rmly committed to our 'one China' policy based on the three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan
Relations Act," he said. "Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations."
A di erent Obama administration o cial said there was no contact with either the White House or State
Department about the call beforehand.

China: The biggest issue for the next US president? 00:46

Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
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met with China's President Xi Jinping Friday, China's

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Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with China's President Xi Jinping Friday, China's
state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Kissinger -- secretary of state from 1973-77 -- is credited with secret diplomacy that helped Nixon open up
Communist China to America and the West.
During their Beijing meeting, Kissinger told Xi "that he believes it is the expectation of the U.S. new
administration to facilitate sustained, stable and better growth of U.S.-China relations," Xinhua reported.

'Major pivots'
The United States acknowledged China's claim that there is one China and that Taiwan is part of China in a
joint communique signed in 1979 at the time of the formal establishment of relations between Washington and
Beijing.

'One China,' explained 02:20

Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, publicly blasted
Trump for his actions in a series of tweets.
While it will soon be Trump's right to shift policy, alliances and strategy, Murphy said, "what has happened in
the last 48 hours is not a shift. These are major pivots in foreign policy w/out any plan. That's how wars start."
He added that "if they aren't pivots - just radical temporary deviations - allies will walk if they have no clue what
stand for. Just as bad."
we
Donald Trump's dramatic search for a secretary of state
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated that Trump transition adviser Stephen Yates was in
Taiwan and was involved in facilitating the call.
CNN's Chieu Luu, Kevin Bohn, Daniella Diaz, Michelle Kosinski, Nanlin Fang, Steven Jiang and Joe Sterling
contributed to this report.

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