After an appointment with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Monday that the United States continues to uphold the “One China” policy and is opposed to Taiwanese sovereignty.

In an interview with reporters on Monday, Blinken stated they do not favor Taiwan’s independence. He stated the administration continues to be resistant to any unilateral modifications made by any side to the existing status quo.

Blinken continued by saying they still anticipate an amicable settlement of cross-strait disputes and are dedicated to carrying out their obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, such as guaranteeing Taiwan’s capacity for self-defense.

The confrontational steps China has been taking in the past few years, dating back to 2016, have deeply concerned Americans and a lot of others, Blinken continued saying.

The explanation for why this is cause for concern for a number of countries, in addition to the United States, is should an issue over Taiwan arise, it is likely to result in an economic crisis that may literally affect the whole world.

Daily commercial container traffic via the Taiwan Strait accounts for 50% of all traffic.

Taiwan is where 70% of semiconductors are produced. If a crisis was resolved offline, it would have caused drastic repercussions for almost every nation on the planet, he continued.

The timing of Blinken’s remarks coincides with rising Taiwan-related hostilities involving China and the United States. Ten Chinese airplanes violated the Taiwan Strait’s median line twice in as many days last week, prompting Taiwan’s air force to mobilize fighter jets.

Additionally, there have also been multiple recent close encounters between the Chinese and U.S. military planes, which includes an air intercept by a Chinese fighter aircraft over the South China Sea at the end of May.

Recently, the U.S. military distributed footage of a close call involving a Chinese Navy ship and an American destroyer in the Taiwan Strait.