Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

Any separatist attempt or act of soliciting foreign support to undermine cross-Straits relations will only backfire and will not succeed, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday when asked to comment on reports that Taiwan authorities will boost military exchanges with the US after the island's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen met with US lawmakers.

According to AP, the US Congress delegation includes Ro Khanna, Tony Gonzales, Jake Auchincloss and Jonathan Jackson, which as observers put it, are all notorious anti-Chinese discriminators. Tsai said the island would continue to "bolster military exchange," and will cooperate more actively with the US to confront "authoritarian expansionism." 

The five-day visit by the US Congress delegation comes after US deputy assistant secretary of defense for China Michael Chase reportedly made a secretive stopover on the island on Friday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded at a Tuesday press briefing that the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US relations and a prevailing consensus among the international community.

"China is strongly opposed to the US' military ties with and arms sales to Taiwan island. The 'Taiwan independence' provocations of the DPP authorities will not change the fact that Taiwan is part of China or cause international support to falter over the one-China principle, and still less change the irreversible trend toward China's reunification," Wang said. 

Any separatist attempt or act of soliciting foreign support to undermine cross-Straits relations will only backfire and will not succeed, Wang stressed.

Analysts said it is not unusual for US lawmakers to visit Taiwan island and pay lip service to the island for their own political interests. 

These politicians do not speak for the Pentagon, so their "promises" are just empty words, Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Military interaction between Taiwan authorities and the US has not been restrained, but it has always been at a relatively low level, Xin said. "There are serious consequences for publicly and explicitly challenging China's bottom line."