Chinese president Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Joe Biden during their recent summit in San Francisco that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with mainland China, a report claimed. The timing has not yet been decided, NBC reported citing three current and former US officials. The Chinese president told Joe Biden in a meeting attended by a dozen officials from both sides that China’s preference is to take Taiwan peacefully and not by force, the report claimed.
What happened at Joe Biden- Xi Jinping meeting
The report claimed, “The Chinese leader also referenced public predictions by US military leaders who say that Xi plans to take Taiwan in 2025 or 2027, telling Biden that they were wrong because he has not set a time frame.”
“Chinese officials also asked in advance of the summit that Biden make a public statement after the meeting saying that the United States supports China’s goal of peaceful unification with Taiwan,” it added.
What officials said on the meeting
Xi Jinping was “blunt and candid, but not confrontational” with Joe Biden, officials claimed.
“His language was no different than what he has always said. He is always tough on Taiwan. He’s always had a tough line,” a US official said as per the report.
At last year’s Chinese Communist Party Congress, Xi Jinping had said that China would attack Taiwan militarily if it declares independence with foreign support. The Chinese leader had then said that the threat of force “is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking” Taiwan’s independence.
