Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Biden in no uncertain terms that he would reunify Taiwan with mainland China — and the only question was when — NBC News reported Wednesday citing U.S. officials.
The stark warning came when Xi was in San Francisco for a summit last month, according to NBC.
The Chinese leader reportedly told Biden, in a group meeting attended by other Chinese and American officials, that Beijing would prefer to take Taiwan “peacefully” but appeared to leave open the possibility of doing so by force.
U.S. military officials have said they believe the U.S. could go to war with China over Taiwan as soon as 2025. Xi reportedly mentioned those reports to the president but said they were wrong because he had not set a timeframe.
The warning from the leader of the world’s third-largest military to the leader of its first was made in private, per NBC, and was not particularly different from statements Xi has made in the past.
But it was nevertheless seen in foreign-policy circles as significant because it was made directly to Biden and came at a time of growing aggression from China toward Taiwan.
The U.S. has long maintained a “One China” policy in which it acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but still maintains relations with the self-ruling democracy.
Biden said last year that the U.S. would defend Taiwan if China were to launch an invasion of the island, but the White House later softened those comments.
Taiwan has become an increasingly significant global economic player, and thus strategic to both Western and Chinese interests, as its role as the world’s foremost semiconductor manufacturer has grown.
It was reported at the time of the summit in San Francisco that Xi told Biden: “Taiwan question remains the most important and most sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations.”
Later, in a press conference at the meeting, Biden referred to Xi as a “dictator,” ruffling diplomatic feathers.
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