BEIJING (AP) — Beijing has dismissed the White House's criticism of China's "Orwellian nonsense" demands that foreign airlines not to refer to self-ruled Taiwan as a country, saying foreign companies operating in China must respect the nation's sovereignty.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Sunday that "whatever the U.S. says will never change the objective fact that there is only one China in the world and the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan regions are an inalienable part of China's territory."

The White House on Saturday condemned China's efforts to control how U.S. airlines refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, saying the push to make them comply with Chinese standards is "Orwellian nonsense."

China's Civil Aviation Administration has demanded the change from 36 foreign carriers, including some American carriers, according to the White House.