US says Xi ‘accelerated’ China’s plans to annex Taiwan

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said China’s government is pursuing a plan to annex Taiwan on a “very accelerated schedule” under President Xi Jinping. In an interview with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University on Monday, he reiterated warnings that taking Taiwan would trigger a global economic crisis.

Blingen’s comments come as the Chinese Communist Party convenes for its congress, the most important gathering of its twice-a-decade political cycle. In a keynote speech opening Sunday’s conferences, Xi made it clear that his plans for Taiwan are central to his plans to “revitalize” China.

Blinken said peace and stability between China and Taiwan had been successfully maintained for decades, but Beijing had changed its approach.

“Instead of maintaining the established status quo in a positive way, [Pequim tomou] “It is a fundamental conclusion that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and Beijing is determined to pursue reunification on a much faster schedule,” Blinken said.

“If peaceful means don’t work, you use coercive means. Perhaps, if coercive means don’t work, they use force to achieve their goals. This is what destabilizes the situation deeply and creates great tension.

In recent years, the CCP and its military, the People’s Liberation Army, have intensified threatening activities against Taiwan, including daily operations along the maritime border.

The Chinese military conducted major military exercises around the main island of Taiwan in August in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s alleged visit to Taipei.

While Beijing has made it clear it wants to take over Taiwan, the timeline for that scenario varies widely. Senior military figures from the United States and Taiwan have warned that this could happen within a few years, while analysts point to Xi’s goal of national rejuvenation by 2049, the centennial of the People’s Republic of China, as a possible timeline.

Blinken further warned that the destabilization of the Taiwan Strait is “a deep concern for countries around the world.”

“The volume of commercial traffic that crosses the strait every day and affects economies around the world is enormous,” he said. “If it stops as a result of a crisis, countries around the world will suffer. [Sobre] Semiconductors – If Taiwanese production stops as a result of the crisis, we will have an economic crisis around the world.