BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the United States to immediately withdraw arms sales to Taiwan and sever military ties with the island.

"China urges the United States to honor its commitment to the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, immediately withdraw arms sales to and sever military ties with Taiwan to avoid further damage to bilateral relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press briefing.

Geng made the comments in response to a planned sale of weapons worth 2.2 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, including M1A2 Abrams tanks and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.