KEY POINTS:
- China has warned Australia there is "no room" for compromise over Taiwan.
- Taiwan elected a man China says is an "instigator of war" as its next leader.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged China to respect the result.
China's top diplomat in Australia has warned there is "no room at all" for compromise on Taiwan, within days of Taiwanese voters electing a man branded by Beijing as an "instigator of war".
The comments come after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged China to respect the result, despite Beijingand warning attempts at Taiwanese independence will be "crushed".
Relations between Beijing and Canberra have improved since the 2022 federal election, with under the former Coalition government.
Anthony Albanese, pictured with Chinese President Xi Jinping, has called for China to respect the result. Source: Getty / Yan Yan
Xiao described Taiwan, which China views as an inalienable part of its territory, as "very sensitive to our bilateral relationship" and revealed Beijing had made a "series of representations" to Canberra over the issue.
"The fact is not going to change: to this world, there's only one China, and Taiwan is part of China," he said.
"This is a very sensitive issue to China, it involves China's core interests. We're ready to compromise, we're ready to show flexibility on many issues, for example in trading issues.
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, emerged victorious in Taiwan's presidential election. Source: AAP / Louise Delmotte
Taiwan has its own constitution and has been governed separately from China since 1949, maintaining it is independent.
Beijing claims Taiwan as a part of its territory and has been vocal about its plans for reunification.
Australia operates under a ‘One China Policy’, acknowledging Beijing as the sole government of China. It doesn’t recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation or maintain official government-to-government relations with Taipei.
Many countries engage with Taiwan informally through non-governmental channels, while still formally recognising Taiwan as part of China.
On Saturday, Taiwanese voters defied a series of warnings from Beijing to deliver the Democratic Progressive Party an unprecedented third successive term. The result will see Lai sworn in as the Taiwan's leader in mid-May, with experts warning of instability in the interim.
The election was watched closely in Washington DC - the US is Taiwan's major military partner - amid concerns over China's designs on the island.
Beijing has branded Lai, who promotes deeper ties with the West, an "instigator of war" and criticised governments for congratulating him for his election - including summoning the Philippines envoy to China.
China immediately dismissed his election, its military warning the night before the poll that it would take "all necessary measures to firmly crush 'Taiwan independence' attempts of all forms".
On Monday, Albanese insisted the result would not change Australia's long-standing "one China" approach but called on all parties to respect the outcome.
"We support democratic processes, and we congratulate Mr Lai on his election, as we would have congratulated whoever came out of that democratic process," he told the ABC.
"We think that it's a good thing when you see the peaceful exercise of people's democratic rights. That is what has occurred here. We'll continue to support the status quo when it comes to the position of Taiwan, consistent with our bipartisan one-China policy."
