A Chinese official said on Tuesday that the government firmly opposes United States arms sales to Taiwan.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks when asked to comment on the U.S. pushing the "Taiwan legislature" to pass a bill this autumn on purchasing arms from the United States.

Liu said the United States would violate commitments made in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, in particular the joint communique signed between the two countries on August 17, 1982, if it offered arms to Taiwan.

"It would jeopardize the national security and reunification of China," said Liu, adding the Chinese government and people have always been strongly opposed to such arms sale.

Liu urged the United States to adhere to the one-China policy, which has been reiterated by President George W. Bush, to honor its commitments in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and to oppose Taiwan independence.

He said the United States should stop arms sales and end its military links with Taiwan and avoid giving "wrong signals" to pro-independence forces.

The United States should maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait with concrete action and safeguard China-U.S. relations, Liu said.

It was reported that the arms sale was proposed by Stephen Young, head of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), on October 26.

Liu said China has already lodged solemn representations on the AIT official's proposal.