Britain only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but maintains a de facto embassy in Taipei. Although junior British ministers hold talks with their Taiwanese counterparts, the convention was that senior British ministers do not meet with Taiwanese officials.
Tugendhat, who was sanctioned by China two years ago for speaking out about alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, is not a full Cabinet minister but attends Cabinet meetings in his role as security minister, where he is responsible for countering terrorism, domestic state threats and economic crime.
“We want to make it clear to the UK side that any actions that undermine China’s interests will be met with resolute responses,” the Chinese embassy spokesperson said.
Source: CNA
