A view of the Taiwan Straits is seen from Xiamen port, in East China's Fujian Province. Photo: IC

The US administration has called off a meeting with Wellington Koo, head of so-called "defense authority" of the island of Taiwan, "at the last minute" in June, according to Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday. 

Two days before the revelation, media reported that the US administration has denied permission for Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's planned transit stop in New York en route to Central America.

According to the Financial Times, Koo had planned a trip to the Washington area and meet with Elbridge Colby, the number three official at the Pentagon. But the US called off the meeting at the last minute, FT reported, citing several people familiar with the matter.

The US told island authorities that the timing was bad, but several of the people said there were other concerns, FT reported. 

The media added that some US officials worried it would "undermine US-China trade negotiations."

The FT said the White House declined to comment. 

In the context of China-US trade talks, "the Trump administration has softened its stance toward China," The Washington Post reported on the incident where the DPP officials' attempt to have provocative trip to the US was rejected, as well as the news that the US had paused the implementation of new export controls on China.

At the regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun made corresponding statements regarding the attempted collusion between Taiwan island authorities and the US, as well as the China-US economic and trade talks.

In response to US' refusal of Lai's stopover in New York and putting off his plan to visit the so-called "diplomatic allies" in Latin America, Guo said that "the one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations and a prevailing international consensus. The commitment to the one-China principle is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends, and the right thing to do. The Lai Ching-te authorities' separatist provocations will lead nowhere, still less shake the solid and strong international commitment to the one-China principle or stop the overriding historical trend towards China's reunification."

Regarding the issues related to the China-US economic and trade talks, Guo stated that "We hope the US will work with China to follow the important common understandings reached by the two presidents during the phone call, make good use of the consultation mechanism, have more consensus and cooperation and fewer misperceptions through dialogue and communication on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit, achieve more mutually beneficial results, and jointly promote the sound, steady and sustainable development of bilateral relations."

Global Times