China reiterates opposition to US arms sales ahead of Trump visit

Beijing's remarks come after US president said he would discuss arms sales to Taiwan with his Chinese counterpart

China on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to China.

China's "firm opposition to US arms sales to China's Taiwan region is consistent and clear," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Trump said on Monday that he plans to discuss US arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing this week.

According to The New York Times, a bipartisan group of senators has urged Trump to move ahead with the delayed $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan, which has been stalled at the State Department for months.

Guo added that during Trump and Xi's summit in Beijing, the two leaders will have an "in-depth" exchange of views on China-US relations and other major issues concerning world peace and development.

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Trump also said that he would bring up the case of Hong Kong's former media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this year, with Xi.

Guo said that China's position on the case is "clear."

To a question about whether China is considering releasing Jimmy Lai, he said: "Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs," and added: "China's central government firmly supports Hong Kong judicial authorities in performing their duty in accordance with the law."

Responding to the US Treasury Department's sanctions on 12 individuals and entities accused of helping Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sell and transport oil to China, Guo said Beijing firmly opposes "unilateral sanctions" not authorised by the UN Security Council or based on international law.

The sanctions target companies and officials based in Iran, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

China will "firmly protect" the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses and citizens, Guo said, adding that the current "pressing priority" in the Middle East conflict is to "prevent, by all means, a relapse in fighting, rather than exploit the situation to throw mud at China."