China’s president warned the United States not to continue arming Taiwan.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned the United States against supplying arms to Taiwan as part of rare concrete demands during bilateral talks on Wednesday at the Filoli Estate in San Francisco.
“The U.S. side should take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence,’ stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification,” Xi told President Joe Biden during their meeting, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.
“China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable,” he said, in what were some of his most strident remarks to Biden to date.
China’s president is in California until Friday to attend the annual APEC summit, but a higher priority is to stabilize relations with Washington and to air Beijing’s grievances in person.
China has made repeated claims to Taiwan as part of its territory, although the Communist Party leadership has never controlled the self-ruled island in its seven decades in power in Beijing.
Beijing’s increased military activity in the Taiwan Strait has raised doubts about Xi’s stated commitment to resolve political differences with Taipei by peaceful means. And Xi’s message to Biden was a pointed warning about Washington’s role as a hurdle in Taiwan’s “reunification” with the mainland.
