Chinese President Xi Jinping said Sunday that the reunification of the motherland is a "historical inevitability" in an address delivered on New Year's eve, with the self-ruled island heading into its Jan. 13 presidential election.
"China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the leader said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The remarks once again indicate the mainland's determination to bring the democratic island into its fold, by force if necessary. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war.
Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party is leading the leadership race. But Hou Yu-ih, the nominee of the main opposition Nationalist Party, which seeks dialogue with Beijing, is closing the gap with Lai, according to recent opinion polls.
Meanwhile, Xi exchanged New Year greetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and expressed hope to "enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation and carry forward friendship so as to ensure that the China-Russia relationship is moving steadily along the right path," the Chinese ministry said.
Xi and Putin maintain close ties, having made mutual visits to each other's country in 2023. China opposes Western sanctions on Moscow over Russia's nearly two-year war with Ukraine, which started in February 2022.
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