Xi Jinping says ‘wishful thinking’ to expect Beijing to compromise on Taiwan
- Chinese leader makes first public comment since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
- Xi made the remarks in a meeting with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday
“[The] Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests. The Chinese government and Chinese people will never agree to anyone making a fuss about the one China issue,” Xi said, according to a foreign ministry statement.
“Anyone who expects China to compromise on the Taiwan issue is [engaging in] wishful thinking and will only shoot himself in the foot.”
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, von der Leyen said the Taiwan issue had been discussed and she had told Xi that “the threat to use force to change the status quo is unacceptable. It is important that some of the tensions that might occur should be resolved through dialogue.”
A day earlier, Tsai and McCarthy were joined by a bipartisan group of 17 other US lawmakers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley in what Beijing described as a “sneaky transit” by the Taiwanese leader and an attempt to engage in “official meetings”.
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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, despite Beijing’s warnings
