A recent report claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping told Joe Biden at their most recent summit meeting that the People’s Republic of China plans to eventually reunify with the island nation of Taiwan.
According to ABC News, the exchange between the two leaders took place at the APEC Summit in San Francisco. Although Xi apparently did not leave the option of using force to do so off the table, he allegedly suggested that he would try to use peaceful methods first. While Xi has publicly stated similar intentions regarding Taiwan, his decision to bluntly reiterate this directly to Biden is seen as a bold move that indicates his refusal to back down under pressure from Biden.
Biden Administration spokesman tried to downplay the reported exchange.
“I’m not gonna get into the specifics of the discussion between the two leaders,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday, while speaking to reporters on Air Force One. “I think you can understand I’m not gonna read out that private conversation.”
“President Xi has been public and clear about his desires for reunification, that’s not, that’s not something different, or new. We have been clear, and the president was clear with you guys and with President Xi that we still adhere to the One China policy, we don’t support independence for Taiwan,” Kirby continued. “We also don’t support a change in the status quo unilaterally and certainly not one by force and as the president has said, there’s no reason for this to come to blows.”
The Chinese government confirmed in its own official readout of the summit that China’s policy on reunification with Taiwan has not changed.
“Xi Jinping elaborated on his principled position on the Taiwan issue and pointed out that the Taiwan issue has always been the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US relations. China attaches importance to the relevant positive statements made by the United States at the Bali meeting,” says the government readout. “The United States should reflect its statement that it does not support ‘Taiwan independence’ in specific actions, stop arming Taiwan and support China’s peaceful reunification. China will eventually be unified and will inevitably be unified.”
China, which considers the nation of Taiwan to be part of Chinese territory rather than an independent country, has pursued reunification for years. Amidst an increasingly chaotic global scene, from the war between Russia and Ukraine to the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, the possibility of China invading Taiwan has become more likely.
The possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan has led to greater supply chain concerns within the United States, as Taiwan is crucial in the manufacturing of computer chips and semiconductors that are necessary in many technologies utilized in America and much of the West. An invasion by China would disrupt this supply flow and possibly lead to technological blackouts, which would not only cause chaos and confusion in everyday American life, but could also present a national security risk.