TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In an op-ed piece published before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China’s words and actions were “deeply destabilizing," Chinese ambassador to Washington Qin Gang (秦剛) accused the Biden administration of turning the Taiwan Strait into “a powder keg.”

The Chinese-owned Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post published the diplomat’s article Thursday (May 26) as observers were awaiting Blinken’s speech, which is being seen as a major clarification of U.S. policies toward China. The secretary of state said Beijing’s “increasingly provocative rhetoric and activity” were threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

According to Qin, any discussion in Washington about whether the U.S. needs to follow a policy of “strategic clarity” or “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan was a waste of time. “On an issue concerning China’s core interests, we will never compromise or back down,” the Chinese ambassador wrote.

Qin accused the Biden administration of “hollowing out” its China policy by actions such as sending senior officials to Taiwan and selling it “sophisticated weaponry,” adding “fuel to the fire” and emboldening what Beijing called “separatists.”