China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s address on Sunday, striking a stronger tone than he did last year with less than two weeks to go before the Chinese-claimed island elects a new leader.
The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections come at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei, as China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
“China will surely reunite”
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to "return" Taiwan in his New Year's address.
Xi says the Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should “share the great glory of national rebirth.” pic.twitter.com/40UB9zIZi3
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 31, 2023
China considers Taiwan to be its “sacred territory” and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control, though Xi made no mention of military threats in his speech carried on state television.
During his address, the Chinese president also said the country’s economy had grown “more resilient and dynamic” in 2023, despite financial figures continuing to disappoint as post-Covid recovery stalls.
Xi has endured a challenging 2023 at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy, with his administration struggling to sustain an economic rebound since rapidly dumping its onerous zero-Covid policy a year ago.
But he said on state broadcaster CCTV the economy had “weathered the storm” and become “more resilient and dynamic than before”, hailing the promotion of “high-quality development” and emerging industries such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar panels.
