Days ahead of polls, China tells U.S. to 'stay out' of Taiwan elections

China on Thursday asked the U.S. to "stay out" of upcoming elections in Taiwan, as the island nation is set to hold presidential and legislative elections over the weekend.

"Taiwan is China's Taiwan," replied China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning to a question about Washington's plans to send an "unofficial" delegation to Taiwan shortly after weekend elections conclude.

However, Beijing "firmly opposes any form of U.S.-Taiwan official contact," Mao told reporters in Beijing.

"The US needs to honor the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, stay out of Taiwan's election and not do anything harmful to China-US relations and cross-Strait peace and stability," she said.

China considers Taiwan as its "breakaway province," while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

Taiwan's eighth presidential election on Saturday is being viewed as one of the most consequential in its recent history.

Around 19 million people are registered to vote in the island nation of some 24 million.

The election is a three-way contest pitting William Lai Ching-te, the current vice-president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), against the opposition Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih and Taiwan People's Party nominee Ko Wen-je.

Under the DPP, Taiwan has seen more engagement with Western nations led by the U.S., much to the chagrin of Beijing.

Kuomintang, on the other hand, has campaigned for more engagement with Beijing.