A subtle shift in how China talks about Taiwan suggests it is gearing up for war
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, at the fourth plenary session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing in March of last year. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
In its latest budget report, China dropped mention of “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan — a subtle shift that could signal it is preparing for war.
The report, delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the opening of the National People’s Congress, said China would increase its military budget by 7.2% this year, according to Reuters.
Its military spending for this year is estimated to rise to 1.67 trillion yuan, or $231 billion, the biggest increase in five years, Bloomberg noted.
The government report called for “reunification” with Taiwan but said it wanted to “be firm,” losing the word “peaceful” from previous reports, per Reuters.
It’s not the first time the word “peaceful” hasn’t been used, but it’s more significant during a period when China is taking a tougher approach to dealing with Taiwan.
Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949, but China sees it as a breakaway province that should be under its jurisdiction.
Wang Huning, the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, said in a Taiwan policy meeting in February that China planned to “resolutely combat” any sign of Taiwan independence in 2024, Reuters reported.
The report said China’s military spending had more than doubled since Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, took office in 2013, increasing from 720 billion yuan in 2013 to 1.67 trillion yuan in 2024.
Li Mingjiang, a defense scholar at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Reuters this increased spending was an indication of its stance against Taiwan.
“China is showing that, in the coming decade, it wants to grow its military to the point where it is prepared to win a war if it has no choice but to fight one,” Li said.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, a spokesperson for the Japanese government, said in a statement that China must be more transparent about its increased military spending. Hayashi said it posed “the greatest strategic challenge ever to ensure the peace and stability of Japan and the international community and strengthen international order.”
Meanwhile, it appears Taiwan is gearing up with advanced weapons of its own, as Business Insider reported in February.
The Missile Threat program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, DC, foreign-policy think tank, previously said Taiwan had at least six different types of cruise missiles, including land-attack and anti-ship weapons.
In a January survey by the CSIS, nearly all of the US experts surveyed said they were confident the US would intervene if China invaded Taiwan.
Representatives for the Chinese government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
