BEIJING -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that the one-China policy is a prerequisite for any countries to have ties with China and expressed appreciation to those countries that have recently reiterated their support of the policy.

"Adhering to the one-China policy is the prerequisite and basis on which China develops relations of friendly cooperation with any countries in the world," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing.

Geng made the remarks when asked to comment the remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault Wednesday, saying U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's remarks questioning the one-China policy principle "is not clever."

US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that he does not feel "bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade".

Geng said "we appreciated those countries which have recently reiterated their adherence to the one-China principle."

"There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China," Geng said.