German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 9, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not change its “one China” policy, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, distancing herself from comments by President-elect Donald Trump that the United States could reconsider its long-held policy that Taiwan is part of China.

“We still stand by a ‘one China’ policy and we will not change our stance,” Merkel told a news conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic when asked about Trump’s remarks questioning nearly four decades of U.S. policy.

China said on Monday it was seriously concerned by Trump’s comments, adding that cooperation was “out of the question” if Washington could not recognise Beijing’s core interest on Taiwan.