Dec. 31 (UPI) — Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his New Year’s speech, said Taiwan and China are other peoples and no country can stop China from annexing the island country.
“No one will ever be able to break the bond of kinship that unites us,” he said.
China during the past year has sent warships and military aircraft into the waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan in what Taiwanese officials say is an effort to normalize the presence of the Chinese military in the area.
China also has declared ownership of most of the South China Sea and its islands.
Taiwanese officials reject China’s ownership claims over the island nation that is located about 100 miles east of the Chinese mainland and is separated by the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan is the world’s largest producer of semiconductor chips used to power technology and accounts for up to 90% of the world’s supply of semiconductors.
During his New Year Address, Xi acknowledged the Chinese economy faces new “challenges of uncertainties” as the nation prepares to complete a 14th Five-Year Plan in 2025 that Xi said will make China more self-reliant and stronger economically through advancements in science, technology and social development.
“We can succeed through our hard work,” Xi said in his speech. “As always, we grow with wind and rain, and we become more powerful in difficult times. “
China’s economy has slowed after the COVID-19 pandemic collapsed the country’s real estate sector and forced many businesses to close, increasing unemployment.
China’s economy has taken a step forward with a gross domestic product estimated at more than $18 trillion in 2024.
Xi said the continued progression and production of electric vehicles, synthetic intelligence, embedded circuits, quantum communications and other technologies in China would boost its economic recovery.