President-elect Donald Trump has been warned he is “playing with fire” and that Beijing will “take off the gloves” if he continues to provoke China’s government by suggesting the “One China” policy could change.

Mr Trump once again suggested the “One China” principle, in which the US recognises the self-governing island of Taiwan as part of China, is up for negotiation in a recent interview.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the President-elect said: “Everything is under negotiation, including One China”. China’s foreign ministry responded to the comments by stating that the “One China” principle is the foundation of US ties and is non-negotiable.

Two of China's influential newspapers have written strongly-worded editorials in response to Mr Trump’s comments.

English language newspaper China Daily claimed that if the future president “is determined to use this gambit in taking office, a period of fierce, damaging interactions will be unavoidable, as Beijing will have no choice but to take off the gloves”.

In the piece, headlined, “Trump playing with fire with his Taiwan game,” stated: “It may be costly. But it will prove a worthy price to pay to make the next US president aware of the special sensitivity, and serious consequences of his Taiwan game.”

State-run tabloid The Global Times offered its own response to Mr Trump’s recent interview and said Beijing would take “strong countermeasures” against Mr Trump’s attempts to “impair” the “One China” principle.

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“The Chinese mainland will be prompted to speed up Taiwan reunification and mercilessly combat those who advocate Taiwan’s independence,” it claimed, adding that Mr Trump “endorsed Taiwan in exchange for his administration’s short term interests”.

“Taiwan may be sacrificed as a result of this despicable strategy.”

The US switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Mr Trump broke decades of diplomatic protocol in December when he received a congratulatory call from Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen.