The Financial Times reported that President Xi Jinping accused the United States of trying to trick China into invading Taiwan. According to the FT, the Chinese leader made this claim to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. One expert told BI that this is a sign that China is “seriously invading China.” “I was surprised by the attitude of U.S. officials.”
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping has accused the United States of trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. He said he would not ride it.
According to the FT, Xi made the accusation in April last year during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
A source told the FT that Xi had issued similar warnings to officials in his own country, but this was the first time Xi had made this claim to a foreign leader. As far as is known, this is the first time.
According to a press statement issued at the time, during the meeting, President Xi said that Taiwan was the “core” of China’s interests, adding, “If there are people who expect China to compromise and make concessions on the Taiwan issue, they It’s just a pipe dream,” he added. I would shoot myself in the foot. ”
Xi’s accusations against the United States were not addressed in the statement.
For decades, the United States has maintained a “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan, positioning itself as Taiwan’s staunchest ally but not making clear whether it would support Taiwan in the event of an attack by China. I’ve been avoiding it.
But the mood in Washington, D.C., appears to be changing, with Congress “more overtly pro-Taiwan than it was just a few years ago,” Eurasia Group analyst Graham Thompson told Business Insider in November. Ta.
Last month, a U.S. Congressional delegation met with senior Taiwanese officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, days after China conducted military exercises near Taiwan.
Representative Andy Barr, co-chair of Taiwan’s parliamentary caucus, called for “maintaining the status quo and peace in the Taiwan Strait” during the visit, the Associated Press reported.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the United States will protect Taiwan.
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Kelly Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London, told BI that Xi’s accusations show that China is “genuinely surprised” and “shocked” by recent US “acts of aggression”. He said that it is an expression of.
“There are now a number of public figures in the United States who talk about Taiwan as if it were the new Ukraine, and some even say that Taiwan needs to be diplomatically recognized,” Brown added.
Mike Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during the Trump administration, and former national security adviser John Bolton are among those calling for such measures.
This is a problem for China and “clearly there is a line that should not be crossed, and if it is crossed, something needs to be done,” Brown said.
During a meeting in April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi instructed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to cross China’s “red lines” regarding sovereignty, security and development interests.
Brown, who was first secretary at the British embassy in Beijing from 2000 to 2003, said that behind Xi’s “complaints” other Western allies “might be able to calm the US down. ”, he said.
Whether it will have any impact is another question, he added.
Adm. Samuel Paparo, the top U.S. admiral in the Pacific, told the Washington Post last week that if China invaded Taiwan, the U.S. would deploy thousands of drones in an “unmanned hellscape” and threaten U.S. forces. He said this could buy time until Taiwan can be rescued. .
Correction: June 17, 2024 — An earlier version of this article misspelled the analyst’s last name. Thompson, not Thomson.
