The Chinese government has protested against the visit of a Bundestag delegation to Taiwan. The German MPs were asked to "immediately end their interaction with Taiwan's separatist independence forces," according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday. You should not send "wrong signals".

"Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," it added. The refusal of the ruling Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan to recognize the "one China principle" and its "constant provocations seeking independence" are at the root of the current tensions in the Taiwan Straits. The Foreign Ministry is calling on the members of the Bundestag to seriously follow the "One China Principle", it said.

The day before, the members of the Human Rights Committee of the Bundestag were received in Taipei by President Tsai Ing-wen. It is already the second Bundestag delegation to visit the democratic island republic this month. Members of the FDP, SPD, the Greens and the Union are represented in the group of six.

China regards Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, as part of the People's Republic and firmly rejects such official contacts from other countries to Taipei. Taiwan, on the other hand, has long considered itself independent. The tension had recently increased. China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping again threatened to conquer Taiwan at the party conference that ended on Saturday.

The renewed upset in German-Chinese relations comes shortly before Chancellor Olaf Scholz's planned visit to Beijing next Friday. It is his first visit to China as chancellor.