China’s President Xi Jinping has once again underscored the reunification of Beijing with Taiwan, saying no one can separate the two as they are one family.
“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family. No one can ever sever the bond of kinship between us,” Xi said in his 2025 New Year message on Tuesday.
"No one can block the historical momentum of the reunification of the motherland," he added.
China has sovereignty over Taiwan, maintaining it as an inalienable part of it.
The US does not recognize Taiwan as a country and officially supports the "One China" policy, but regularly oversteps its own principles. The island has become China's most sensitive territorial issue and a major bone of contention with Washington.
China amassed naval forces around Taiwan earlier in December after the self-governed island’s president Lai Ching Te stopped over in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during a Pacific trip criticized by Beijing.
Washington continues to antagonize Beijing by siding with Taipei's secessionist administration, engaging in frequent military missions around the island, and serving as its largest weapons supplier.
Beijing has repeatedly warned against any official exchanges between Washington and Chinese Taipei, including provision of military assistance to the island.
The US government approved in October a potential $2bn arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery of an advanced air defense missile system as well as advanced surface-to-air missile systems and radar.
Beijing said the sale of weapons to Chinese Taipei was against international law, and would upset regional security. The Chinese government also sanctioned seven companies in response to American weapons sales and aid to Taipei.