China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Jinzhang says it will not accept Taiwan as an independent state and warns the region that his country will not compromise on the issue.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - A top Chinese government official has sent a strong warning to Caribbean governments that Beijing will not compromise on its One China Policy.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Li Jinzhang, said China does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state and will do all in its power to uphold national sovereignty and promote its territorial integrity.

Up until last year, St. Lucia was among a number of regional countries which supported the One China policy. It however opted to break ties with mainland China in favour of relations with Taiwan last year, joining other independent regional states including Belize, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Beijing government spokesman criticised St. Lucia for that decision, saying that the move was not only unwise, but temporary.

"It affects the national sentiments of the 1.3 billion Chinese people. On the Taiwan question the Chinese government and the people have no room for compromise," the Vice Minister declared.

Meanwhile he said he was very pleased that over the years nine Caribbean countries have individually and collectively reaffirmed their commitment to the One China Policy.

"We enjoy good and mutual trust and we have enjoyed frequent high level exchange of visits. We have seen vast growth of our economic cooperation and trade; we have also had very good practical cooperation in culture, education, investment, financial services and tourism; we have good cooperation on international issues," he said.

The comments by the Chinese official came ahead of an official visit by the new Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson to China on May 5.

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