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The United States on Tuesday backed Taiwan’s inclusion in the United Nations system, a move that is likely to rankle China, which considers the island under the authority of Beijing, The Hill reported.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called “Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system” a “pragmatic” issue and not a political one.

“The fact that Taiwan participated robustly in certain UN specialized agencies for the vast majority of the past 50 years is evidence of the value the international community places in Taiwan’s contributions,” Blinken said in a statement.

The secretary’s statement follows a virtual meeting last week between U.S. and Taiwanese officials that focused on supporting Taiwan’s ability to participate in the United Nations and contribute on global issues like public health, the environment and climate change, developmental assistance technical standards, and economic cooperation, according to a readout of the meeting.

China has long opposed Taiwan’s participation among U.N. bodies and pushes back against any international move that appears to recognize the island as separate from Beijing.

“The vast number of UN member states, including the US, recognize that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters, in response to the U.S.-Taiwan working group.