Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Biden last month that he intends to end Taiwan’s decades of de facto independence — peacefully, if possible.
Xi told the 81-year-old commander-in-chief that “Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China but the timing has not been decided,” NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing three current and former US officials briefed on the meeting.
The White House did not deny the exchange, which took place during a Nov. 15 summit outside San Francisco attended by a dozen US and Chinese officials.
“I’m not going to go into the specifics of the discussions between the two leaders,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One en route to Milwaukee.
“I think you can understand I won’t read that private conversation.”
“President Xi has been open and clear about his desire for reunification – that’s nothing different or new,” Kirby added.
“Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China but the timing has not been decided,” Xi said. Reuters
The White House spokesman went on to say that the US would continue to adhere to the “One China” policy of not recognizing Taiwan as independent and added that “as the president has said, there is no reason for this to happen.”
At the summit, Xi said that “China’s priority is to take Taiwan peacefully, not by force,” and said that “the US military leader who said that Xi plans to take Taiwan in 2025 or 2027 … is wrong because he does not set the time. frame,” NBC reported.
China’s so-called “president for life” and Biden met for four hours and the US reading of the talks did not mention any significant updates on Taiwan, which has ruled itself since Communist Mao Zedong’s 1949 victory over Chinese civil war. war
Biden said last year that the US military would defend Taiwan if it was threatened by Beijing.
Xi Jinping said that China plans to reclaim Taiwan. via REUTERS
Taiwan, which has a population of more than 23 million, began the process of democratization in the late 1980s after decades of rapid economic growth. Its current president, Tsai Ing-wen, has angered Beijing by insisting that the predominantly Chinese island is independent.
Taiwan has been ruled by Beijing for only part of its history. It was previously ruled by Japan for 50 years — from 1895 to 1945 — after about two centuries of Chinese control.
Xi’s government has pursued an expansionist foreign policy — including asserting ownership of disputed islands in the South China Sea and ending Hong Kong’s political autonomy in 2020 despite assurances in 1997 that the former British colony would have 50 years of self-rule.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen, has angered Beijing by insisting that the predominantly Chinese island is independent. Getty Images
US-China relations are a key issue in next year’s presidential election, with Republicans arguing Biden has not been tough enough on issues such as fentanyl exports, which have sparked record US drug overdose deaths.
Biden’s critics point to the receipt of millions of dollars by his son Hunter and brother James Biden as part of a pair of business ventures with entities linked to the Chinese government from 2013 to 2021.
Joe Biden’s meetings with associates from both partnerships are a major focus of the House impeachment inquiry.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a rematch against Biden, claimed in August that Biden was “bribed and now he’s being blackmailed” by China, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Post last month that Biden was ” soft” in Beijing and that “it may have to do with business relationships and may involve Hunter and James Biden and some of the deals they made there.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
