Putin voices support for China's Taiwan policy
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
MOSCOW, Mar 23 (AFP): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin affirmed Russia's support for China's position on Taiwan at a meeting in Moscow Tuesday with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
"We have always supported China on the most sensitive issues, including the Taiwan problem," Putin told Xi at the start of talks.
China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's nationalists fled in 1949 after losing the civil war, to be a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Russia and most of the world also view Taiwan as an integral part of China, but Taiwan trades with and receives support from numerous countries, notably the United States.
In January, Washington angered Beijing by approving a 6.4-billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan.
Xi in turn praised Russia-Chinese relations as being "at an unprecedentedly high level."
"It is very important to maintain the good state of Russian-Chinese ties in the future," he said.
"We have always supported China on the most sensitive issues, including the Taiwan problem," Putin told Xi at the start of talks.
China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's nationalists fled in 1949 after losing the civil war, to be a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Russia and most of the world also view Taiwan as an integral part of China, but Taiwan trades with and receives support from numerous countries, notably the United States.
In January, Washington angered Beijing by approving a 6.4-billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan.
Xi in turn praised Russia-Chinese relations as being "at an unprecedentedly high level."
"It is very important to maintain the good state of Russian-Chinese ties in the future," he said.