Europe 1 with AFP 9:02 p.m., May 23, 2022

China warned the United States on Monday following statements by President Joe Biden that Washington would defend Taiwan in case China tries to seize it, as reported by the official news agency Chine Nouvelle.

The United States is "playing with fire", Beijing said.

The United States is "playing with fire", Beijing warned on Monday, following statements by President Joe Biden that Washington would defend Taiwan in case China tries to seize it, the agency reported. official press New China.

The United States "is using the 'Taiwan map' to contain China and will burn itself there," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, often described as the Chinese government.

Zhu Fenglian "urged the United States to cease any remark or action" that violates the principles previously established with China, according to New China.

The American president warned Monday in Tokyo that his country would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an invasion, considering that Beijing "flirts with danger".

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"This is the commitment we made," replied Joe Biden when asked during a press conference if Washington would intervene militarily against a Chinese attempt to take this island by force.

China initially reacted to these statements by calling on Joe Biden to "not underestimate" his "firm determination" to "protect his sovereignty".

The "one China" policy applied by the United States regarding Taiwan "has not changed", for his part said on Monday the American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, this island of 24 million inhabitants has been ruled by a rival regime to that, communist, which governs mainland China.

China intends to "reunify" the island territory to "the motherland".

It has not given up using armed force, especially if independence is officially proclaimed by the Taiwanese authorities.