Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that Taiwan's "reunification" with China must and will happen, and pledged to pursue it peacefully, without mentioning the use of force, Reuters reported.
"The tide of history cannot be stopped," Xi said in a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. "The complete reunification of the motherland must be realised, and it will certainly be realised." He called resolving the Taiwan question an "unwavering historical mission" of the Communist Party.
Xi said China adhered to "peaceful reunification and the policy of 'one country, two systems'", and was willing to talk to Taiwan on the basis of the "one-China principle", Beijing's position that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one country. He urged all Chinese, including those in Taiwan, to oppose what Beijing calls "separatist" forces.
Background
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory; Taipei rejects the claim. No major Taiwanese party supports the "one country, two systems" model Beijing has offered. Although Xi did not mention force on Thursday, China has never renounced it, and its military operates around the island daily.
The speech marked the 160th birth anniversary of Sun Yat-sen, who led the 1911 revolt that ended imperial rule and founded the Republic of China. Beijing calls him a national hero; in Taiwan, where the Republic of China government moved after losing the civil war in 1949, he is officially considered the "father of the nation". Last month Taiwan told its people to stay away from China's events marking the anniversary, saying Beijing had a distorted view of his legacy.
Taiwan's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. President Lai Ching-te says only Taiwan's people can decide their future; Beijing calls him a "separatist" and refuses to talk to him.
What next
Xi is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week. Taiwan holds important local elections a little more than two weeks from now.