China has taken note that on December 5, Karol Garek, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic headed a delegation to China's Taiwan region. This act grossly violated the one-China principle, renounced the political commitment made by Slovakia, emboldened the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, and seriously undermined the political trust between China and Slovakia. China firmly opposes and deplores this.

The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China, which concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and bears on China's core interests. There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The one-China principle is an universally-recognized norm governing international relations and an overwhelming consensus of the international community. It is also the political prerequisite for the bilateral diplomatic relations and the political foundation for maintaining and developing friendly and cooperative relations between China and other countries. In the Joint Statement between China and Slovakia signed in 2003, the Slovak side has reiterated that there is but one China in the world, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China; that the Slovak side will adhere to the one China principle and will not establish official relations of any form or engage in official contacts of any form with Taiwan, and Slovakia will only enter into private sector led trade and economic relations with Taiwan.

China firmly opposes official and political interactions in any form or in any pretext with Taiwan by any country having diplomatic ties with China. Slovakia should abide by its commitment made upon the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, stop all forms of official interactions with the Taiwan authorities, stop endorsing the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and avoid further hurting China-Slovakia relations.