China Won't Fall for US' Taiwan War 'Trap,' Former Ambassador Says

China's former ambassador said Beijing will not fall into a Taiwan war trap during a recent event in Washington.

"They will supply military assistance, they will supply weapons for proxy war, and the Chinese will be killing Chinese. We will not fall into that trap," Cui Tiankai, the former Chinese envoy to Washington said, referring to the U.S., at Asia Spotlight 2024, an event organized by the Asia Society Policy Institute on January 25.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion bill to fund aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. This paves the way for the House of Representatives to review the bill, including $4.83 billion in aid to assist U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region, along with Taiwan.

Cui was speaking about a potential conflict between the U.S. and China over the fate of Taiwan. The comments by the former envoy came as tensions over the future of Taiwan remain a driving factor between U.S.-China relations.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, although the Chinese Communist Party has never governed the self-administered island during its seven decades in power.

During his speech in Washington, Cui also said that Asian countries should work to stop regional tensions from worsening to Cold War levels or the likelihood of a "dangerous decade" will increase.

Cui's comments on January 25 came two weeks after the election of the Democratic Progressive Party's William Lai Ching-te as president of Taiwan, whom Beijing has described as a "stubborn separatist."

Cui served as China's envoy to Washington for eight years before stepping down from the position in June 2021. He is now an adviser to the official Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs but doesn't hold any decision-making position in the Chinese political system at the moment.

During a trip to San Francisco in November, Chinese leader Xi Jinping demanded the U.S. stop selling arms to Taiwan. However, the State Department approved a $300 million weapons sale to the island in December. The U.S. maintains that such sales are governed by the Taiwan Relations Act, a policy that allows Washington to maintain unofficial ties with Taipei, despite the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is only officially recognised by a handful of nations.

"China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable," Xi said during his summit meeting with President Joe Biden at Filoli Estate in November, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.