Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the criticism illustrates the bloc’s hypocrisy, as it was silent on the US House speaker’s trip and is now speaking only to accuse Beijing of retaliation.

The G7 and the European Union expressed concern in a statement that “China’s threatening actions carry the risk of unnecessary escalation.”

According to the spokeswoman, the root cause of the current tensions in the Taiwan Strait is that the White House has ignored China’s opposition and has conspired to allow the visit of the third most important government official on a military plane.

Hua noted that the event heated up the level of relations between Washington and Taipei, was a threat to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to the One China principle, the basis of ties with Beijing.

The official reiterated China’s position against official contacts of any country with Taiwan, blamed secessionists and external stakeholders for changing the status quo in the region, and condemned their intentions to split China and Taiwan.

“The members of the G7, led by the United States, are the face of aggression and coercion,” she added.

jg/llp/mv/ymr