Beijing: US Vice President Dick Cheney today (April 13, 2004) assured the Chinese leadership that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence and wanted to work jointly with Beijing on issues of common concern.

"The United States realised the importance of the Taiwan issue in the Sino-US relation, and the US leaders' policy on the question was not changed at all," Cheney, who arrived here on a three-day official visit, said.

Restating a similar vow made last December by US President George Bush, Cheney said Washington opposed any "unilateral action" from each side to alter the status quo situation across the Taiwan straits.

The US sticks to the "one-China" policy based on the three joint communiques between the United States and China, Cheney told his Chinese counterpart Zeng Qinghong during a meeting here, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified with the mainland, even by force. The Taiwan issue is the most sensitive issue in Sino-US relations.

Though Washington recognises Beijing's "one-China" policy, which sees Taiwan as part of one China, but remains Taipei's main arms supplier.

The US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 by recognising there is only one China.