China firmly opposes negative China-related provisions in U.S. defense authorization act

China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the negative provisions related to China in the U.S.' National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. These clauses extensively manipulate the Taiwan question, advocate for strategic competition with China, exaggerate the "China threat," push for "de-risking" in key areas related to China and brazenly interfere in China's internal affairs, China's Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) said on Wednesday.

In regards to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 passed and signed into law by the U.S., Xu Dong, spokesperson of China's Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC, said on Wednesday that the act severely undermines China's interests of sovereignty security and development and seriously violates the consensus reached at the China-U.S. San Francisco summit.

China's Constitution clearly stipulates that "Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China. It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland." Any attempt to separate Taiwan island from China goes against the national interest of China, which the Chinese people will never accept, Xu said.

The Taiwan question is China's core interests, the fundamental basis of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first and foremost red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. The U.S. has made solemn commitments on the Taiwan question in the three joint communiqués. China will eventually achieve reunification, which is inevitable. Any attempt to use Taiwan to contain China is doomed to fail, Xu noted.

China will consistently adhere to the path of peaceful development and persist to the development of the country and the nation. Chinese people's rights to pursue a better life is sacred and inviolable. The relevant provisions in the U.S. act ignore facts, advocate for "decoupling" and "cutting off ties," and arbitrarily politicize issues related to trade, technology and culture, attempting to artificially disrupt normal exchanges and cooperation between China and the U.S.. Such a practice is unpopular, unjust, and contrary to the interests of any parties, Xu said.

Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the shared directions for both China and the U.S.. We strongly urge the U.S. to abandon Cold War and zero-sum thinking as well as ideological biases, refrain from implementing the negative clauses related to China in the aforementioned act, and avoid taking risks in matters concerning China's sovereignty and core interests. The U.S. should work with the Chinese side to implement the important consensus reached at the San Francisco meeting between the two heads of state with practical actions, Xu stressed.