Holds virtual summit with Joe Biden
Beijing/Washington: Striking a tough posture at the much-awaited virtual summit with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping said that China will “certainly defend” its sovereignty and security interests as he warned that whoever plays with fire over Taiwan will “get burnt”.
In a lengthy speech touching a host of issues at the over three-hour-long summit, Xi, fresh from last week’s ruling Communist Party of China plenum meet endorsing an unprecedented third term for him from next year and perhaps for life, pointed Beijing’s “red lines” on a host of issues, including Taiwan, and said China’s rise is an “inevitable trend of history” and cannot be stopped.
On Taiwan, where China has pressed over 200 military jets into the estranged islands air defence zone ratcheting tensions, 68-year-old Xi ascribed the tensions to the repeated attempts by the Taiwan authorities to look for US support for their independence agenda as well as the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China.
“Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire. Whoever plays with fire will get burnt. The one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués are the political foundation of China-US relations,” Xi told Biden.
Previous US administrations have all made clear commitments on this question. “The true status quo of the Taiwan question and what lies at the heart of one-China are as follows: there is but one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China,” he said.
“Achieving China’s complete reunification is an aspiration shared by all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We have patience and will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts. That said, should the separatist forces for Taiwan independence provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures,” he said.
Significantly, Xi in his talks with Biden has referred to the just-concluded meeting of the CPC plenum, which has reinforced his powers hailing him as “helmsman”, an honorific title reserved for party founder Mao Zedong.
Asking Biden to seize “political leadership” to bring the bilateral ties back on track from the path of confrontation, Xi said managing differences and sensitive issues in a constructive way is the way out to prevent China-US relations from getting “derailed or out of control”.
“It is only natural for the two countries to have differences. The key is to manage them constructively so that they don’t magnify or exacerbate,” he said.