The foreign ministry has warned that a planned American weapons sale to Taiwan will damage relations between Washington and Beijing ahead of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to China next month, AP reported. Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China could never accept the proposed US$15.3 billion sale involving eight diesel-powered submarines, 12 anti-submarine aircraft and six Patriot missile batteries because it constituted interference in China's affairs. The proposed weapons deal was first approved by the Bush administration in 2001 but has since been delayed by Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party.
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