As a veteran businessman who prides himself on his ability to make deals, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump should be well familiar with the phrase "deal-breaker."
Let's try to make this issue crystal clear for the coming new administration of the United States: any deviation from the one-China policy will be a "deal-breaker."
And just to make things even more clear, let's reiterate the policy. There is only one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China.
The U.S. president-elect claims to fully understand the one-China policy, but the fact that he is so eager to play with fire shows he clearly does not.
The one-China policy is the cornerstone for any country, including the United States, to engage with China diplomatically, and is simply non-negotiable: no exceptions.
Every president since Richard Nixon, Republican and Democratic alike, have understood exactly what the one-China policy means, regardless of their differences in other aspects of domestic and foreign policy. The new administration will be held to exactly the same standards.
The president-elect has vowed to make America great again and we wish him well in that regard, but we see no benefit for the United States if he unilaterally and single-handedly puts the world's two largest economies on a collision course.
Taiwan sits in the center of China's core interests. It is difficult to overstate how serious an affront to Beijing it would be if the incoming U.S. administration recklessly shook the foundations of bilateral ties.
Alarm signals aside, China and the U.S. bear great responsibilities and have broad common interests in peace, stability, development and prosperity.
The long-term, stable and healthy growth of China-U.S. ties is in the fundamental interests of everyone, and no more than the international community expects.
