China has warned countries which have ties with Beijing not to invite Taiwan's President-elect, Chen Shui-bian, to visit.

"The Chinese Government is strongly opposed to any official exchanges between Taiwan and any countries which have diplomatic relations with China," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi.

Beijing's diplomatic partners must demonstrate their commitment to the principle of one China by "not allowing Chen to visit in any capacity", he told a news conference in a reiteration of Beijing's long-standing policy.

The warning follows a proposal by US Republican Senator Frank Murkowski to invite Mr Chen to the United States as a private citizen before his inauguration - an apparent attempt to get round Chinese opposition to official contacts with Taiwan.

It also came as a former US congressman, Lee Hamilton, met the president-elect for talks in Taipei.

Mr Hamilton has said he is visiting Taiwan as a private citizen, but correspondents say the trip is widely believed to have President Clinton's backing.

They say the warning is a reminder that, despite attempts by Mr Chen to diffuse China's suspicions, Beijing remains firmly opposed to any efforts to raise Taiwan's international profile.

Diplomatic isolation

Chen Shui-bian ended 50 years of Kuomintang nationalist party rule on the island when his party, which had campaigned for independence from China, won presidential elections on Saturday.

Since then, the Democratic Progressive Party leader has toned down calls for outright independence.

But his party chairman stressed on election night that Taiwan must gain more respect internationally.

And a committee of Mr Chen's party on Wednesday deferred a decision on whether to soften a pro-independence clause from its platform.

China insists that countries which recognise Beijing maintain only economic ties with Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province. So far it has restricted Taiwan to just 29 diplomatic allies.

When Taiwan's current President, Lee Teng-hui, visited the US in 1995, Beijing conducted war games and fired missiles into the seas near Taiwan.

It lambasted the US, recalled its ambassador to Washington and suspended cross-strait negotiations with Taiwan.