China suspends cooperation with US on range of issues, sanctions Pelosi over Taiwan trip

China's Foreign Ministry announced new countermeasures against Washington on Friday, including the suspension of climate talks, in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, hours after it announced sanctions against the US House speaker.

The measures include the cancellation of future phone calls and meetings between Chinese and US defense leaders, for which future dates had not been announced, and the cancellation of annual naval meetings under the China-US military maritime consultation mechanism.

China also suspended cooperation on the repatriation of illegal immigrants, legal assistance on criminal matters and the combat of transnational crimes, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a briefing Friday.

It suspended its anti-drug cooperation with the US, which has already been strained in recent years. The US has blamed China for failing to stop synthetic opioids reaching the US as both Beijing and Washington disagree on how to counteract the problem.

China's Foreign Ministry also said it would suspend climate change talks, a major area of cooperation despite escalating tensions in recent years.

The moves come after Beijing announced that it would sanction Pelosi and her immediate family over the visit to Taiwan, and as it stepped up military drills and warplane incursions around the island.

Earlier Friday, China's Foreign Ministry condemned Pelosi for what it described as her "vicious and provocative actions," saying her trip to Taiwan amounted to "seriously interfering in China's internal affairs."

"U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on visiting Taiwan in disregard of China's serious concerns and firm opposition, seriously interfering in China's internal affairs, seriously undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously trampling on the one-China principle, and seriously threatening the peace and stability across Taiwan Strait," a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

"In response to Pelosi's vicious and provocative actions, China has decided to impose sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family," the statement said.

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, when she met President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders, has infuriated China's Communist Party, which views the self-governed democratic island as its territory -- despite never having controlled it.

At a news conference in Tokyo during the last stop of her Asia tour, Pelosi struck a defiant tone, saying China had sought to isolate Taiwan from the international community but would not prevent US officials from traveling there.

"We will not allow (China) to isolate Taiwan," the California Democrat said Friday. "They are not doing our travel schedule."

The White House summoned the Chinese ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, on Thursday to condemn China's "irresponsible" military activities following Pelosi's trip, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN. The meeting was first reported by The Washington Post.