(Newswire.net— October 15, 2020) — Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Chinese soldiers to put all their energy and thoughts into preparing for war.
During a visit to a military base in Guangdong province, Xi told the assembled soldiers to be in a “state of high alert” and called on them to be “absolutely loyal and reliable,” CNN reported, citing the Chinese agency Xinhua.
The main reason for Chinese President Guangdong’s visit is to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of a special economic zone in Shenzhen. The zone was formed to attract foreign investment and played an important role in China’s development to the position of the world’s second-largest economy.
The visit comes at a time of the greatest tension between China and the United States in decades, over Taiwan and the coronavirus pandemic, among other things, CNN reports.
The White House informed the US Congress on Monday that it intends to sell three advanced weapons systems to Taiwan, including the High Mobility Artillery and Missile System (HIMARS).
Beijing responded sharply. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lidjian called on Washington to “immediately cancel all plans to sell weapons to Taiwan” and to cut off all “US-Taiwanese military ties.”
Taiwan has never been under the control of the Chinese communist government, but Beijing claims that it is a democratic, self-governing island that is an integral part of China. President Xi refused to rule out the possibility of using military force with the aim of capturing Taiwan if necessary, CNN reports.
Despite the Chinese government’s disapproval, relations between Washington and Taipei have grown closer under the Trump administration, CNN reports.
In response, Beijing increased military drills around Taiwan and crossed the median line between the mainland and Taiwan on September with about 40 Chinese warplanes.