Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the US is luring China into a military conflict over Taiwan, the Financial Times cited a source as saying.
Xi told Von der Leyen that the US was “trying to provoke Beijing by providing weapons to Taiwan,” but he would “not take the bait,” the Financial Times reported yesterday,
The remarks were made during a meeting between Xi and Von der Leyen in April last year, it said.
Photo: Reuters
The report also quoted Center for Strategic and International Studies Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette as saying that Xi might have “created an information vacuum or is otherwise getting poor counsel from subordinates.”
Former Chinese ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) echoed Xi’s comments in a speech at the Asia Society in January when he said China would “not fall into the trap somebody may be preparing for us,” the report said.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington has an obligation to provide Taiwan with the defense articles it needs to defend itself, but US President Joe Biden’s administration has long reiterated that it opposes unilateral changes to the “status quo,” the report said.
Nevertheless, Beijing has grown anxious in the past few years over the US’ intentions regarding Taiwan, and Washington has grown concerned about Chinese military activity in the Taiwan Strait.
It is possible that Xi’s remarks were due to subordinates trying to steer him away from more aggressive policies, Blanchette said, adding that “it’s clear that the decisionmaking environment [in Beijing] is being warped.”
Separately, German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific program managing director Bonnie Glaser said that Xi might be trying to drive a wedge between the US and the EU, particularly on the issue of Taiwan’s defense. However, it is also possible that Xi genuinely believes the US trying to lure China into a conflict, she said.
Von der Leyen would not confirm details about her meeting with Xi, and the White House refused to comment, the report said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS