China vows to 'fight back' if Taiwan leader meets US speaker

China vowed on Wednesday to "fight back" should Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meet the US House speaker during a trip to the United States.

Tsai left on Wednesday for the United States, from where she will head to Guatemala and Belize to shore up ties with diplomatic allies. On her way back to Taiwan she will stop in California, where US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had said he would meet her.

China claims the democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day and, under its "One China" principle, no country may maintain official ties with both Beijing and Taipei.

Beijing warned Wednesday that it was "resolutely opposed" to any meeting between Tsai and McCarthy and vowed to take "resolute measures to fight back" if it goes ahead.

"If (Tsai) engages with US House Speaker McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the One China principle, undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said.

Tsai's trip follows Honduras's decision this month to open diplomatic relations with Beijing, leaving Belize and Guatemala among just 13 countries that have official ties with Taipei.

"External pressure will not hinder our determination to go global," Tsai told reporters at the airport before leaving. "We are calm and confident. We will not succumb and we will not provoke (others)."

"There's absolutely no reason for China to use that as a pretext to overreact or to engage in further coercion directed at Taiwan," a senior US administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity, adding that the stopover did not represent a change in US policy.

Beijing's foreign ministry said Washington "blindly connives with and supports Taiwan independence and secessionist forces".

Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged the United States at a briefing on Wednesday to stop any form of official exchanges with Taiwan and to "stop the dangerous act of undermining the political foundation of China-US relations".

(AFP)