In his latest anti-China tirade, US president-elect Donald Trump has declared that he is willing to abandon the decades-old 'One China' policy unless the world's second largest economy enters into some kind of bargain with Washington.

"I fully understand the 'One China' policy but I don't know why we have to be bound by a 'One China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump said in an interview with Fox News last Sunday.

Like Us on Facebook

Trump's recent statements have risked further alienating China's communist party leaders who have expressed their serious concerns about the incoming president's remarks in an editorial published in the Chinese state-run newspaper, Global Times, on Monday.

Not for Sale

"The One China policy is not for selling. Trump thinks that everything can be valued and, as long as his leverage is strong enough, he can sell or buy," the commentary said in a stinging rebuke to the president-elect.

The 'One China' policy has been the crux of Sino-US relations since 1979 when then US President Richard Nixon and Chinese revolutionary leader and founding father of China Mao Zedong re-established diplomatic ties between the two countries, in which Washington was bound to recognize only the Chinese government.

According to the article, Trump's conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was already a manifestation of his plans to use the 'One China' policy, the center of Sino-US relations, as a bargaining chip to "peddle America's short-term interests."

Breakaway Province

Under the policy, Taiwan is considered merely a breakaway province of China and is part of the Chinese mainland.

The Global Times warned Trump that Beijing would not hesitate to militarily support Washington's enemies if he gives up the 'One China' policy, supports Taiwan's independence, and eventually sells arms to the island in response to his provocations.

The opinion piece said there would be no reason for Beijing to partner with Washington in battling forces hostile to US if he abandons the policy.

A week ago, Trump held a telephone conversation with the Taiwanese president, breaking a 40-year old protocol that forbids a US leader from talking to Taiwanese leaders under the 'One China' policy.

The diplomatic fiasco prompted Beijing to file a diplomatic protest before the US embassy. Days after, Trump went on a Twitter rampage, attacking China over issues of trade, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula.

The Global Times called on China to brace itself for an unpredictable Trump presidency, saying it would need to struggle real hard to show him that China and other powerful nations would not allow him to take advantage of them.

TagsPresident-elect Donald Trump, One China policy, Sino-US relations, US President Richard Nixon, Mao Zedong, President Xi Jinping