Important Takeaways:

• At a state banquet celebrating the founding of the People’s Republic on Monday, Xi used his address to underscore his resolve to achieve the “complete reunification of the motherland.”
• “It’s an irreversible trend, a cause of righteousness and the common aspiration of the people. No one can stop the march of history”
• Successive Chinese leaders have vowed to one day take control of Taiwan, but Xi, China’s most assertive leader in decades, has ramped up rhetoric and aggression against the democratic island – fueling tension across the strait and raising concerns for a military confrontation.
• Taiwan officials say Beijing has intensified military activities around the island in recent months, including drills in May that the Chinese military said were designed to test its ability to “seize power” over the island.
• The issue of Taiwan has become a major point of contention between China and the US, which maintains close but informal relations with Taipei and is bound by law to supply the island with weapons to defend itself.
• On Sunday, US President Joe Biden approved an additional $567 million in military support for Taiwan in the largest aid package America has granted the island.

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