China urges the United States to stop intervening in the Taiwan regional leadership election of 2024 in any form and stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces advocating “Taiwan independence,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday.

“There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” Mao said, urging the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, properly handle Taiwan-related issues, stop any official exchanges with Taiwan, and avoid causing damages to China-U.S. relations, as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

The U.S. blatantly made irresponsible remarks on the election, and China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to such acts, Mao said, stressing that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.