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Those U.S. and Western sinologists, including the Biden administration’s national security team, who continue to promote the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” on Taiwan as the most effective deterrent of a Chinese invasion of the island should ponder the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening of the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing: “We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.”
That line in the speech drew the longest and most sustained applause by the party delegates. Xi also made it clear that “[t]he Taiwan issue is China’s own problem to solve” and that “[t]he wheels of history are rolling on towards reunification and the rejuvenation of the great Chinese nation. Complete reunification must be realised and it can without a doubt be achieved.” No strategic ambiguity there.
Xi is preparing the nation for war with the United States. “Be mindful of dangers in the midst of peace,” he said. “Get the house in good repair before rain comes, and prepare to undergo the major tests of high winds and waves, and even perilous, stormy seas.
