BEIJING — China on Monday denied accusations by Taiwan that a ban on pineapples from the island was about politics, saying it was purely a matter of biosecurity, in an escalating war of words that has added to existing tensions.
China announced the ban last week, citing “harmful creatures” it said could come with the fruit, threatening China’s own agriculture.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, says there is nothing wrong with its pineapples and that Beijing is using the fruit as another way to coerce the island.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the decision was “totally rational and necessary” and that customs had a responsibility to prevent diseases carried b…
Keep on reading: China says Taiwan pineapple ban not about politics as war of words escalates