Xi Calls Taiwan Dispute ‘Chinese Matter,’ Pushing Back at US
- Beijing will never renounce right to use force, president says
- China leaders may face increasing pressure to act on island
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President Xi Jinping declared the dispute over Taiwan a “matter for the Chinese” to resolve, while reaffirming Beijing’s willingness to use force to prevent the democratically governed island’s independence.
Xi reaffirmed China’s commitment to gaining control over Taiwan in an almost two-hour address to open the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress Sunday in Beijing. While he largely reiterated previous remarks on Taiwan, Xi used the high-profile speech to warn against “external interference,” in what appeared to be a reference to the US.