China's Xi: Taiwan's changing politics won't affect meaning of 'One China' principle

China's Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping reads at the Great Hall of the People during the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing March 10, 2013. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping said Taiwan's changing politics would not affect the meaning of the 'One China' principle, the Chinese state radio broadcaster said on Tuesday. Beijing has withheld official communication with the government of Democratic Progressive Party leader and President Tsai Ing-wen, until it agrees to recognise the 'One China' policy. China says Taiwan is part of one China, ruled by Beijing. It regards the island as a renegade province, to be united by force if necessary, and ties have become strained since Tsai took office in May. The previous Nationalist administration agreed to recognise the "1992 consensus", which states that there is only one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what that means. The Nationalist Party chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu visits Beijing this week, and met Xi on Tuesday. (Reporting by Paul Carsten and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)