China has strongly condemned a senior Taiwanese official’s reported secret trip to Israel, describing the issue of Taiwan as a “red line” for the Chinese government and warning the Jewish state not to send “wrong signals” to those pushing for the island’s independence.

The Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that Taiwan’s high-profile Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu made a recent, previously unpublicized visit to Israel, citing three sources familiar with the trip.

China considers Taiwan, a nearby island run by a democratic government, as a renegade Chinese province that must be reunited with the mainland — by force, if necessary. Due to pressure from Beijing, few countries have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Israel only recognizes Beijing but not Taipei, which has been increasingly looking to Israel for defense cooperation.

Taiwanese diplomats travel abroad, but trips to countries such as Israel are rare.

The anonymous sources told Reuters that Wu had visited Israel in recent weeks. Two of the sources said the trip happened this month.

China responded with outrage to the reported trip.

“The one-China principle is the consensus of the international community and a basic norm of international relations,” China’s embassy in Israel said in a statement. “It is also the prerequisite and foundation for establishing and developing diplomatic ties between China and countries around the world, including Israel.”

The embassy then invoked the China-Israel Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, which states that Israel recognizes that the Chinese government “is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.”

Describing the issue of Taiwan as a “red line,” the embassy said it “firmly objects” to Israel’s reported contact with Taiwanese officials.

“The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and constitutes an inviolable red line at the very core of China’s core interests,” the statement continued. “The Chinese side firmly objects to any form of official exchanges with the Taiwan authorities, which seriously violate the one-China principle. We once again urge the Israeli side to faithfully abide by the one-China principle, correct the erroneous actions, and stop sending any wrong signals to separatist forces advocating Taiwan independence, so as to uphold the overall interests of China-Israel relations through concrete actions.”

Taiwan’s foreign ministry has declined to comment on whether Wu visited Israel.

“Taiwan and Israel share the values of freedom and democracy, and will continue to pragmatically promote mutually beneficial exchanges and cooperation” in areas such as trade, technology and culture and welcome more “mutually beneficial forms of cooperation,” it said in a statement.

Israel‘s foreign ministry has similarly not commented on the matter.

An Israeli official told Israel Hayom that the visit took place but downplayed its importance. The official reportedly said that Wu met with two members of Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, from the Opposition and the Coalition. However, Israel’s Foreign Ministry boycotted the visit as part of its policy of non-confrontation with Beijing on the issue of Taiwan, according to the report.

Still, Taiwan views Israel as an important democratic partner and has been a strong backer of the Jewish state since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

In October of this year, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said that Israel is a model for Taiwan to learn from in strengthening its defenses, citing the Biblical story of David versus Goliath on the need to stand up to authoritarianism.

“The Taiwanese people often look to the example of the Jewish people when facing challenges to our international standing and threats to our sovereignty from China. The people of Taiwan have never become discouraged,” he said. “Israel’s determination and capacity to defend its territory provides a valuable model for Taiwan. I have always believed that Taiwan needs to channel the spirit of David against Goliath in standing up to authoritarian coercion.”

He made the remarks during a dinner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Taiwan.

That same month, Wu met in Taipei with Yinon Aaroni, Director General of Israel‘s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, while in September Taiwan President Lai Ching-te met six Israeli lawmakers at his office.

Taiwan has a de facto embassy in Tel Aviv, while Israel has a similar representative office in Taipei. There is no similar arrangement between Taiwan and the Palestinians, with whom China has a close relationship. China recognized a Palestinian state in 1988. Taiwan has said it does not plan to recognize a Palestinian state.

Lai in October announced a new multi-layered air defense system called “T-Dome” to defend itself against a possible future attack by China. It is partly modeled on Israel‘s air defense system.

Lai told the AIPAC dinner that T-Dome had been inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, as well as US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.

“I believe that trilateral Taiwan-US-Israel cooperation can help achieve regional peace, stability, and prosperity,” he said.

The Chinese embassy’s statement chiding Israel this week came days after China slammed the Jewish state earlier this month for recently joining a United Nations declaration condemning Beijing’s human rights record.

Israel had endorsed a US-backed declaration, signed by 15 other countries — including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan — that expressed “deep and ongoing concerns” over human rights violations in China.

In a rare move, Jerusalem broke with its traditionally cautious approach to China — aimed at preserving diplomatic and economic ties — by signing on to the statement. The signatory countries denounced China’s repression of ethnic and religious minority groups, citing arbitrary detentions, forced labor, mass surveillance, and restrictions on cultural and religious expression.

According to the statement, minority groups — particularly Uyghurs, other Muslim communities, Christians, Tibetans, and Falun Gong practitioners — face targeted repression, including the separation of children from their families, torture, and the destruction of cultural heritage.

In response, China’s Foreign Ministry accused the signatories of “slandering and smearing” the country and interfering in its internal affairs “in serious violation of international law and basic norms of international relations.”

Meanwhile, Beijing continues to strengthen relations with Iran, whose Islamic government openly seeks Israel’s destruction, and expand its influence in the Middle East.

China, a key diplomatic and economic backer of Tehran, has moved to deepen ties with the regime in recent years, signing a 25-year cooperation agreement, holding joint naval drills, and continuing to purchase Iranian oil despite US sanctions.

China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, with nearly 90 percent of Iran’s crude and condensate exports going to Beijing.

Iran’s growing ties with China come at a time when Tehran faces mounting economic sanctions from Western powers, while Beijing itself is also under US sanctions.

According to some media reports, China may be even helping Iran rebuild its decimated air defenses following the 12-day war with Israel in June.

These diplomatic moves come amid an already tense relationship with China, strained since the start of the war in Gaza. In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Beijing, along with Qatar, of funding a “media blockade” against the Jewish state.

At the time, the Chinese embassy in Israel dismissed such accusations, saying they “lack factual basis [and] harm China-Israel relations.”

That same month, however, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), an Israeli think tank, released a report showing China has increasingly used state media and covert campaigns to spread anti-Israel and antisemitic narratives in the United States.

The report examined how China’s state media portrays Israel and the United States as solely responsible for the war in Gaza, depicting them as destabilizing actors while spreading anti-Israel and antisemitic messages.

“It is evident that China and its proxies play a significant role in the current wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the United States,” Ofir Dayan, a research associate in the Israel-China Policy Center at INSS, wrote in the report.

According to Dayan, China’s dissemination of anti-Israel narratives is not intended to directly harm Israel but rather to undermine the US, while preserving its valuable diplomatic and economic ties with Jerusalem.

“Israel is used as a tool to advance Beijing’s claim that Washington destabilizes both the international system and the regions where it operates,” the report said.

While China’s primary aim is to target the United States, Israel ends up suffering “collateral damage” as a result, the study found.