Xi Jinping Calls for Combating Taiwan Independence Supporters and Accuses External Forces of Interference on the Eve of China’s National Day

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in Beijing, on the eve of China’s National Day, that his country must firmly combat forces supporting Taiwan independence and external interference in the island’s affairs. The Beijing leader thus reaffirmed the goal of reunifying Taiwan with mainland China.

In a speech delivered at an official reception and broadcast by the Xinhua news agency, Xi Jinping called for increased exchanges and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. He said the peaceful development of relations should contribute to “the great cause of national reunification.”

China considers democratically governed Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and does not rule out the use of force to achieve its objective. In recent years, Beijing has intensified its political and military pressure on the island, while Chinese authorities describe Taiwan’s leader Lai Ching-te as a separatist.

Xi Jinping recently urged U.S. President Donald Trump to handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and oppose the island’s independence. U.S. support for Taipei remains one of the main sources of tension in relations between Washington and Beijing, despite efforts to maintain an atmosphere of détente.