According to three current and former US officials, Chinese President Xi Jinping bluntly told President Joe Biden during their recent summit in San Francisco that Beijing will reunite Taiwan with mainland China, but that the timing has not yet been decided.
At the summit, Xi, referring the authorities in the US military who predicted China will take Taiwan in 2025 or 2027, told Biden that they were wrong because he has not set a time frame.
Ahead of the summit, Chinese officials also demanded Biden make a public statement after the meeting saying the US supported China’s goal of peaceful reunification with Taiwan and did not support Taiwan’s independence. The White House refused the Chinese request.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin remarked at Regular Press Conference on December 21 “During his meeting with President Biden in San Francisco this November, President Xi Jinping outlined China’s principled position on the Taiwan question. He pointed out that the Taiwan question remains the most important and most sensitive issue in China-US relations. China takes seriously the positive statements made by the United States in the Bali meeting, and the US side should take real actions to honor its commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence,” stop arming Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification.”
