BEIJING – President Hu of China accused the Taiwanese leader of taking a “dangerous step” toward independence, and warned yesterday that Beijing will never let the self-ruled island break with the communist mainland.

A stern series of Chinese statements, however, refrained from repeating Beijing’s threats to attack Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory. America and Japan urged both sides to resume talks.

The Chinese criticism came in response to Taiwanese President Chen’s decision Monday to abolish a committee responsible for unifying the island and the mainland.

“We will continue to strive for the prospect of peaceful unification, but we will never allow Taiwan to be split from the motherland,” state press quoted Mr. Hu as saying.

Mr. Chen “is determined to push ‘Taiwan independence’ to create antagonism and conflict within Taiwan and across the strait,” the ruling Communist Party said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. “It will only bring disaster to Taiwan society.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, called on America, Taiwan’s only major ally, to block any moves toward independence for the island, which has been split from the mainland since 1949.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman, Adam Ereli, appealed for calm and urged both sides to resume stalled talks on closer relations.

“We will continue to hold President Chen by his commitments not to take unilateral moves,” Mr. Ereli said.

Japan also urged Taiwan and China to hold talks.

“Japan does not want to see military or political tensions rising regarding the issue involving Taiwan, and hopes that the issue will be solved peacefully through dialogue,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Yoshinori Katori, said in a statement. “Japan doesn’t support any one-sided attempt from either side to change the current situation.”

Beijing has repeatedly accused Mr. Chen of secretly plotting to declare formal independence – a step it has said could lead to war.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Washington “get a clear understanding of the serious and harmful nature of the secessionist activities by Chen Shui-bian.”

The American government should “take concrete actions to oppose secession activities of Taiwan independence,” a ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said.

Washington has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but maintains extensive unofficial relations and is obligated by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.

China has refused to have any contact with Mr. Chen or his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party and frequently targets both with threatening rhetoric.

The two governments have no official diplomatic relations, but trade, business and tourism ties are flourishing.

Beijing has hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan, just 100 miles off its southeastern coast. The mainland holds annual war games that include simulated assaults on offshore islands, and it fired missiles into the sea near Taiwan during its 1996 presidential election in an effort to rattle voters.