China on Saturday will hold live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait, the government announced via state media, raising the stakes ahead of a possible trip to the self-governing island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The maneuvers will be limited in scope and will take place off the island of Pingtan in Fujian province, according to a statement issued Thursday, but reported by Chinese state media only Friday.

"Live ammunition will be fired… between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm (0000-1300 GMT) and any entry (into these waters) will be prohibited", said the government statement, which does not mention Pelosi.

Tensions have been simmering between the world's two biggest economies and growing geopolitical rivals over Taiwan, with Chinese President Xi Jinping warning US President Joe Biden in a phone call Thursday "those who play with fire will eventually get burned."

The US administration has not confirmed or denied reports that Pelosi, a key Biden ally, is going ahead with a stop in Taiwan during a tour of Asia. Pelosi has also not commented publicly on the widely reported plan.

Beijing sees such a trip as a provocation, given its claim to sovereignty over the self-ruling democratic island.

Although US officials often make discreet visits to Taiwan, Pelosi is second in line to the presidency and she will be using military transport during her visit to Asia.

The area where Saturday's Chinese maneuvers are set to take place is located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Taiwanese coast.

Kremlin expresses solidarity with China over Taiwan
Moscow (AFP) July 29, 2022 –

The Kremlin expressed "solidarity" on Friday with China's stance on Taiwan after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned US leader Joe Biden not to "play with fire" over the self-ruled island.

"Certainly we are in solidarity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and believe that no country in the world should have the right to question this or take any inflammatory or other steps," he added.

"We are convinced that such behaviour on the international arena can only cause additional tension."

On Thursday, Xi warned the US president not to "play with fire" over Taiwan during a lengthy telephone call that the White House said aimed to steady the superpowers' rocky relationship.

Beijing has upheld friendly ties with Russia as Western nations have sought to isolate President Vladimir Putin's government from the global financial and diplomatic order over Moscow's military assault on Ukraine.

Democratic Taiwan lives under constant threat of being seized by China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary.

Russia's assault on Ukraine has heightened fears that Beijing might similarly follow through on threats to annex its much smaller and outgunned neighbour.