China has urged the United States to immediately cease arms sales and other military links to Taiwan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said yesterday.

The arms sales have "rudely interfered in China's internal affairs, endangered Chinese national security and peaceful unification, and disturbed the improvement and development of China-US relations," said the spokesman when commenting on the Pentagon's recent announcement it would sell Patriot II anti-missile equipment upgrade systems and P-3C anti-submarine warfare aircrafts to Taiwan.

"China firmly opposes arms sales by the US government to Taiwan, and this has been our consistent and clear stance," Liu said.