According to a report, Chinese President Xi Jinping lectured President Joe Biden when they met in San Francisco that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with Communist China and derided claims by American military officials that he has set a date for the unification of the two countries.
Those comments were reportedly made during a meeting between Chinese and American officials. Xi claimed that his preference would be to unite with Taiwan peacefully and not use force, NBC News reported. Xi mentioned the pronouncements by American military leaders that Xi would attempt to conquer Taiwan sometime in the next four years and said the predictions were incorrect because he had not set a date for when the two countries would be unified.
“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 U.S. official said of Xi.
Chinese officials allegedly asked before the two leaders met that Biden publicly state that the U.S. supports Communist China unifying with Taiwan and also aver that the U.S. does not support Taiwanese independence. That statement was not made.
In October 2022, at the Chinese Communist Party Congress, Xi stated, “Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.”
Last February, the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after it had crossed over Montana, where several defense assets and missile silos are situated, then traveled over midwestern states such as Kansas and Missouri.
Biden later claimed during his “State of the Union” speech that he had protected U.S. sovereignty, saying, “Before I came to office, the story was about how the People’s Republic of China was increasing its power and America was falling in the world, Not anymore. I’ve made clear with President Xi that we seek competition, not conflict. … make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.”