Important Takeaways:
- A top Chinese general on Thursday told White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan that the U.S. must stop its “collusion” with Taiwan, during a high-stakes meeting in Beijing.
- Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, told Sullivan that Taiwan “is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed,” according to a readout from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.
- “The PLA will definitely take countermeasures against the provocations of the Taiwan independence forces,” the readout said…
- “China urges the US side to stop military collusion with Taiwan, stop arming Taiwan, and stop spreading false narratives on Taiwan.”
- The U.S. has unofficial relations with Taiwan, which China claims as its own, but commits to supporting and arming the self-governing island nation.
- Intimidating Chinese drills and military exercises around Taiwan have increased in recent years, and accelerated after the inauguration earlier this year of pro-U.S. Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te.
- Xi told Biden in the San Francisco summit that he would reunify with Taiwan, by force if necessary.
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