State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times sounded a warning to president elect Donald Trump on Sunday saying China would seek a revenge if Trump fails to abide by the one-China policy.
The warning comes hours after Taiwan's President made a controversial stopover in Houston where he met senior U.S. Republican lawmakers. Tsai is en route to Central America, where she will visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Beijing had asked Washington not to allow Tsai to enter the United States and that she not have any formal government meetings under the One-China policy.
"Sticking to (the one China) principle is not a capricious request by China upon US presidents, but an obligation of US presidents to maintain China-US relations and respect the existing order of the Asia-Pacific," said the Global Times editorial on Sunday.
"If Trump reneges on the one-China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining," said the influential tabloid is published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily.
A photograph tweeted by Texas governor Greg Abbott shows him meeting Tsai, with a small table between them adorned with the US, Texas and Taiwanese flags. Tsai also met Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
"The People's Republic of China needs to understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves," Cruz said in a statement. "This is not about the PRC. This is about the US relationship with Taiwan, an ally we are legally bound to defend."
Cruz said some members of Congress had received a letter from the Chinese consulate asking them not to meet with Tsai during her stopovers.
Trump has said that he will not meet with any foreign leaders before he takes office, but left open the possibility of meeting Tsai after his inauguration on January 20.
