Beijing/Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a tough posture at the much-awaited virtual summit Tuesday with his US counterpart Joe Biden. Xi Jinping said that China will ‘certainly defend’ its sovereignty and security interests. He warned that whoever plays with fire over Taiwan will ‘get burnt’.
Xi delivered a lengthy speech during the three-hour summit. He touched a host of issues. He pointed out Beijing’s ‘red lines’ on a host of issues, including Taiwan. He said China’s rise is an ‘inevitable trend of history’ and cannot be stopped.
China has recently pressed over 200 military jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone ratcheting tensions. The 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 Communiques 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,” asserted Xi.
“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,” the Chinese president added.
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. The Plenum took stock of the major achievements and historical experience of the CPC in the past 100 years, Xi said.
“Over the past century, the CPC has kept to its founding aspiration and mission of striving for the happiness of the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he said. “A lot has been accomplished in this direction, but that is far from enough. More needs to be done,” he pointed out.
Xi said since he took over power in 2012 he had stated ‘publicly that the Chinese people’s aspiration for a better life is the goal to strive for’.
“Any attempt to stop this historical trend will be rejected by the Chinese people, and will by no means succeed,” he said.
“As China’s leader, serving the 1.4 billion Chinese people and working with them for a better life is a great challenge and a great responsibility. I shall put aside my own well-being and live up to people’s expectations,” asserted Xi.
Xi asked Biden to seize ‘political leadership’ to bring the bilateral ties back on track from the path of confrontation. He 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,” informed Xi.
“History is a fair judge. What a statesman does, be it right or wrong, be it an accomplishment or a failure, will all be recorded by history. It is hoped that President Biden will demonstrate political leadership and steer America’s China policy back on the track of reason and pragmatism,” Xi added.