ISTANBUL

China on Tuesday urged the US for the "sound" development of bilateral ties after Washington reportedly denied permission for the Taiwanese leader's New York stopover.

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region. Firmly opposes any trip by leader of the Taiwan authorities to the US in any name or under whatever pretext," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference in Beijing.

The Trump administration denied permission for William Lai Ching-te to stop in New York on his way to Central America next month, according to the Financial Times.

Lai planned to transit through the US in August en route to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize, which recognize Taiwan as a country. But the US told Lai he could not visit New York on the way, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing three people familiar with the decision.

However, Lai's office has denied there was any "postponement, cancellation" of the Taiwanese leader's trip. Nor is there any denial of permission for the transit by the US side, office spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei told reporters in Taipei.

"We hope that the US can abide by the one China principle and the three China-US joint communiques," said China's Guo, calling on Washington to "jointly work" with Beijing to "promote the sound, steady, and sustainable development of China-US ties."

Asked about the US President Donald Trump's statement that he was not seeking a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Guo said: "Refer to the readouts released by the Chinese side."

Trump said on Tuesday that he’s not “seeking” a meeting with Xi, but can consider going to China at the invitation of the Chinese president.

“The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a 'Summit' with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything!” he said on Truth Social.

“I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Earlier, it was reported that aides to the two leaders have discussed a possible summit during a trip to Asia by the US president later this year.

The US and China are currently engaged in negotiations aimed at lowering trade tensions.