Xi bluntly explained his Taiwan plan to Biden

According to the Chinese, Taiwan is part of the national territory anyway. Beijing has repeatedly made this clear verbally and with military maneuvers. During a meeting in the USA, President Xi clearly explained to US President Biden what he intended to do with the island state.

Chinese President Xi Jinping bluntly told President Joe Biden during the recent summit in San Francisco that Beijing would reunite Taiwan with mainland China. According to NBC News, current and former US officials report that only the timing has not yet been decided. Xi reportedly told Biden at a group meeting in November attended by numerous American and Chinese officials that China would prefer to take Taiwan peacefully, according to the officials.

The Chinese head of state is also said to have referred to public predictions by US military officials. They had predicted that Xi wanted to take Taiwan either in 2025 or 2027. He explained to Biden that these predictions were wrong because there was no time frame yet. This is according to two current and one former official who claim to have been informed about the meeting.

Chinese officials also apparently demanded in advance of the summit that Biden make a public statement after the meeting declaring that the US supports China's goal of peaceful unification with Taiwan and does not favor Taiwanese independence, the officials added. However, the White House had rejected the Chinese request, they said. A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment.

Taiwan to elect new president in 2024

Xi's warning to Biden did not differ significantly from his previous public statements on Taiwan reunification. However, it was made at a time when China was becoming increasingly aggressive towards Taiwan. In addition, presidential elections are due to be held on the self-governing democratic island in mid-January 2024, which could determine the direction for the coming years.

Following the publication of the NBC report, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated that Republicans and Democrats must work together to deter China. "This story, as it has been reported, is beyond disturbing," Graham said. "I will work with Democratic and Republican senators to do two things quickly. First, create a robust defense supplemental for Taiwan, and second, draft hell-bent sanctions that can be imposed on China before an invasion should it attack Taiwan."

Officials familiar with the conversation between Biden and Xi described the Chinese leader as blunt and open, but not confrontational, according to NBC. "His language was no different than what he's always said. He's always tough on Taiwan. He's always taken a hard line," said one US official.

At last year's Chinese Communist Party congress, Xi publicly declared that China would attack Taiwan militarily if it declared independence with foreign support. He said the threat of force was directed solely against interference from outside forces and the few separatists seeking Taiwan independence.