The Latest: Scholar says China concerned about Trump policy

BEIJING (AP) - The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump's phone conversation with Taiwan's leader (all times local):

2 p.m.

One of China's best-known international relations scholars says President-elect Donald Trump's call with Taiwan's leader will not help ease Beijing's concerns about U.S. policy toward China under the incoming administration.

Shi Yinhong of Renmin University in Beijing said Saturday that China will respond discreetly and with restraint because it wants stable relations with the U.S., but that officials are increasingly worried.

Shi says: "In the mind of Chinese leaders, concerns are mounting over about U.S. policy toward China" under Trump's administration. He says Taiwan is the most sensitive and important issue in U.S.-China relations.

He says Trump's call may help Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen "convince people in Taiwan that the island can establish good relations with the U.S. and encourage her to continue to resist pressure from Beijing."

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12:10 p.m.

China's foreign minister says he hopes Beijing's relations with the U.S. won't be "interfered with or damaged" after President-elect Donald Trump broke with decades-long diplomatic tradition and spoke directly with Taiwan's leader.

Hong Kong's Phoenix TV reports that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday the call between Taiwan's president and Trump was "just a small trick by Taiwan." He said he thought it would not change longstanding U.S. policy toward China.

Wang says the so-called "one-China policy" is the cornerstone of U.S.-China relations and that Beijing hoped that foundation would not be "interfered with or damaged."

It is highly unusual, probably unprecedented, for a U.S. president or president-elect to speak directly with a leader of Taiwan, a self-governing island the U.S. broke diplomatic ties with in 1979.