Beijing wants to take over Taiwan “in a much faster time frame” than previously considered, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, warning that the president Xi Jinping was leading China in a more aggressive direction.
“We have seen a very different China emerge in recent years under the leadership of Xi Jinping,” Blinken said at a Stanford University forum with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“It’s more repressive at home, it’s more aggressive abroad. And in many cases that poses a challenge to our own interests, as well as our own values,” he added.
Xi, who is about to make sure a third five-year term as head of the world’s most populous nationdelivered a historic speech at the Communist Party Congress on Sunday in which he hailed the achievements of his decade in power and reaffirmed his promise to one day “reunify” or take over Taiwan by force.
Blinken accused Xi of “creating tremendous tension” by shifting the focus on self-governing Taiwan, an island the Chinese Communist Party has never controlled but regards as a rogue province and claims as its own.
The senior official stressed that China had made a “fundamental decision that the status quo was no longer acceptable, and that Beijing was determined to seek reunification in a much faster timeframe,” though he did not give any timetables.
China’s position has long been seeking “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, but reserves the right to use force if necessary, particularly if the island ever formally declares independence. However, the rhetoric and actions against Taiwan have become harsher under Xi.
AFP
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