China firmly opposes the U.S. arrangement for the "transit" of the Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen through the United States and the meeting between Tsai and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and gravely undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mao Ning, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Mao's remarks were in response to reports that Tsai planned so-called stopovers in the U.S. from April 4 to 6 and is expected to meet McCarthy during her trip.

Mao urged the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and not to allow Tsai to "transit" through the U.S. and meet or contact U.S. officials.

China will closely follow the situation and resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, she said.

(Cover: A view of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, China. /CFP)