China Cautions US to Rethink Relations with Taiwan

China says the United States is putting bilateral ties at risk with its recent overtures to Taiwan.

A spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry told reporters Thursday that Washington should "speak and act cautiously" following the $6.4 billion arms deal between the U.S. and Taiwan.  

Beijing has threatened to suspend all military exchanges with the U.S., and impose sanctions on U.S. companies involved in the Taiwan arms deal.

China and Taiwan split when Mao Zedong's Communist forces took power on the mainland after driving out Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, or Nationalist, forces in a 1949 civil war.  

China considers the self-ruled island as part of its territory, and has threatened to invade if Taipei formally declares independence.

Beijing is also upset with the U.S. over President Barack Obama's meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama last week at the White House, as well as allegations the Chinese military was involved in the recent cyberattack against U.S. Internet giant Google.