The Chinese embassy in the United States on Wednesday slammed some U.S. politicians as irresponsible problem-makers hours after Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

The meeting between McCarthy, the third-ranking official in the U.S. government, with Tsai on U.S. territory is a grave mistake that elevates the official interactions and substantive relationship between the U.S. and China's Taiwan region, said the spokesperson for the embassy in a statement.

"Using the Taiwan question for a show with political purposes, the U.S. politicians concerned have acted highly irresponsibly and turned themselves into problem-makers for China-U.S. relationship and the situation at the Taiwan Straits," read the statement.

It also said, "In disregard of China's repeated solemn démarches and warnings, the U.S. side has insisted on arranging for Tsai to 'transit' in the U.S. and meet with the U.S. house speaker as well as bipartisan members of Congress."

This has blatantly violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, violated the U.S. government's commitments on the Taiwan question, and sent a serious wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" forces, according to the Chinese embassy's statement.

"China expresses strong protest and firm opposition, and will respond resolutely to the wrong move by the U.S. side," it said.

Taiwan question: Core of China's core interests

The Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that should never be crossed in the bilateral relationship, said the Chinese embassy in the United States.

The U.S. Congress, as a part of the U.S. government, is obligated to strictly abide by the foreign policy that the latter has adopted and committed to, it said.

While declaring its commitment to the one-China policy and not supporting "Taiwan independence", "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," and not seeking to use the Taiwan question as a tool to contain China, the U.S. side has continued to fudge and hollow out the one-China principle, stepped up official interactions with Taiwan, carried on arms sales and deepened military connections with Taiwan, it noted.

The U.S. has been helping Taiwan expand its so-called "international space," deliberately distorting the nature of the Taiwan question of being purely China's internal matter.

It has co-opted other countries into meddling with the Taiwan question, hammered out Taiwan-related bills infringing on China's sovereignty, and emboldened "Taiwan independence" separatist forces in bringing tension and volatility to cross-Strait relations.

While doing all these, the U.S. side has accused the mainland of "coercion", "pressurizing Taiwan" and "unilaterally changing the status quo."

"This is completely against the reality," said the embassy. "By so doing, the U.S side is emboldening the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and obstructing China's efforts toward peaceful reunification."

Attempts to propagate 'Taiwan independence'

In the statement, the Chinese embassy in the U.S. also criticized Taiwan region's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, which have adopted a separatist stance and colluded with the U.S. side in taking successive provocative moves designed to divide China.

Tsai's "transit" is not so much a "transit," but an attempt to seek breakthroughs and propagate "Taiwan independence", said the embassy.

It continued to note that such moves have strained cross-Straits relations, endangered peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, undermined the prospects and space for peaceful reunification, and become major obstacles to advancing the process of peaceful reunification.

China urges the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, honor the promises that U.S. President Joe Biden has made on multiple occasions, stop upgrading its substantive relationship with Taiwan, stop all forms of official interaction with Taiwan, and stop fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, the embassy underscored.

Noting that China's complete reunification is a process that cannot be halted, the embassy warned that those seeking the U.S. support for "Taiwan independence" will be discarded by history, and those who seek to use Taiwan to contain China will hurt themselves.

"No individual should underestimate Chinese people's strong determination, firm will, and great capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," concluded the embassy in the statement.

(Cover: File of the Chinese embassy in the United States, Washington, D.C., U.S. /Xinhua).