“China resolutely opposes the United States’ invitation to the Taiwan authorities to participate in the so-called ‘democracy summit’,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, adding that Taiwan is “an inalienable part of the Chinese territory.”

Taiwan Thank you for inviting the meeting.

“Through this summit, Taiwan can share its democratic success story,” said Xavier Chang, a spokesman for the president’s office.

The summit will be held online on December 9-10. A second meeting, where the leaders can be seen in person, is scheduled for next year.

China tends to respond forcefully on all occasions when the word “Taiwan” is used in a way that gives the impression of international legitimacy to the democratically governed island. China claims that the island of Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China. China has declared that every attempt to achieve Taiwan independence is doomed to failure.

The United States has not officially recognized Taiwan as an independent country, but the country may still be on the guest list. On the other hand, China and Russia are not included.

Russia is also critical of the meeting.

– The United States prefers to create new dividing lines, to divide countries according to who are – in their opinion – good, and those who are bad, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.