Taiwan reunification will happen, Xi Jinping says

Taiwan reunification with China "must be realised, and it will certainly be realised", President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, November 12, in a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Taiwan's government quickly rejected his offer of a "one country, two systems" arrangement, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP and Reuters.

Xi described resolving the Taiwan question as an "unwavering historical mission" of the Chinese Communist Party and said the tide of history cannot be stopped.

What Xi said about Taiwan reunification

The speech marked the 160th birth anniversary of Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary who helped lead the 1911 revolt that ended imperial rule and founded the Republic of China. Sun is honoured on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which makes his anniversary a common moment for messages to Taipei.

Xi said China sticks to "peaceful reunification and the policy of 'one country, two systems'". He said Beijing is willing to talk to Taiwan while upholding the "one China principle", its position that both sides of the strait belong to one country.

He also called on all Chinese, including people in Taiwan, to oppose what he called "separatist" forces that support independence and to work for peaceful development of cross-strait ties.

Taipei rejects the offer

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said neither the government nor the people of Taiwan could accept "one country, two systems", which it said would ultimately mean submitting to Communist Party rule. No major Taiwanese political party supports the model.

Council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh played down the speech. "As for the wording on Taiwan unification, it isn't much different from the past," he told reporters.

Military pressure continues

Xi did not mention the use of force in his speech. However, China has never ruled it out, and its military operates around the island every day.

On the same day, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" with Chinese warships. Beijing is also extending its military reach further into the Pacific.

Key context for the speech:

• China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim Taipei strongly rejects.
• The APEC summit opens in Shenzhen next week, where Xi is due to meet US President Donald Trump again.
• Taiwan holds important local elections in a little more than two weeks.
• Washington paused a US$14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan in May.

The US factor

The timing places Taiwan high on the agenda for the coming meeting between the two leaders. During a state visit to Washington in September, Xi told Trump to show "prudence" over Taiwan and urged the United States to oppose the island's independence.

Trump has called the paused arms deal a "very good negotiating chip" in talks with China. That remark raised fears in Taipei that the island's security could be traded away in a wider bargain between the two powers. Our report on the Trump, Xi and Putin summit plans in Shenzhen sets out what is expected at APEC.

Why Taiwan reunification talk matters for Thailand

Stability in the Taiwan Strait matters well beyond East Asia. Taiwan is a key supplier of advanced chips, and major shipping lanes linking Southeast Asia with North Asia run through the strait. Any rise in tension can affect supply chains, investment plans and markets across the region, including Thailand.

Bangkok follows a one-China policy while keeping strong trade links with Taiwan. Thailand's own ties with Beijing, including tourism safety and trade, are covered in our report on the Li Qiang Thailand visit. For other political shifts in the region, see our story on Indonesia's vice-president resigning.

For now, Xi's words repeat a long-standing goal rather than set out a new policy or timeline. The real test will be whether military activity around the island rises before Taiwan's local elections and what, if anything, Xi and Trump agree in Shenzhen.

Image: The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where Xi spoke on Taiwan reunification. Photo by Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.