Biden: China Can’t Invade Taiwan Due to Economic Troubles
U.S. President Joe Biden has made a bold statement about China’s economic troubles potentially affecting its ability to invade Taiwan. According to President Biden, China’s current situation may indicate a decline in its capacity to carry out such an invasion.
President Biden, who recently attended the G20 summit in India, arrived in Vietnam on Sept. 10. During a press conference in Hanoi, he expressed his desire to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the near future.
“I hope I get to see Mr. Xi sooner than later. I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader has, sum total, over the last 12 years,” he told reporters.
When asked about the lack of recent meetings with Mr. Xi, President Biden explained that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader is currently preoccupied with youth unemployment and economic difficulties.
“My staff still meets with President Xi’s people and his Cabinet, and, in effect, I met with his number-two person here in India today,” he added. “So, it’s not like there’s a crisis if I don’t personally speak to him.”
Their last meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Nov. 14, 2022. Mr. Xi has chosen not to attend the summit in India and has sent Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his place without providing any reasons.
President Biden believes that China’s current economic challenges make it unlikely for the country to invade Taiwan. He stated, “I don’t think it’s going to cause China to invade Taiwan. And [as a] matter of fact, the opposite—it probably doesn’t have the same capacity that it had before.”
The United States has no intention of severing ties with China, but it will halt the sale of materials that could potentially enhance China’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
China’s economy is at risk of falling short of Beijing’s annual growth target of about 5 percent due to a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending, and declining credit growth.
CCP’s Potential Drive to Invade Taiwan
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be reunified with mainland China by any means necessary, despite Taiwan’s status as a self-governing democracy.
China has been increasing military pressure on Taiwan, with almost daily incursions into Taiwanese airspace. On Sept. 11, Taiwan’s military detected 26 Chinese warplanes and 13 vessels, with 11 of the aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
In response, Taiwan has deployed its own aircraft, navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to monitor the Chinese military activities.
Meanwhile, American journalist and author Gordon Chang, known for his book “The Coming Collapse of China,” expressed concerns that China’s domestic problems could push Mr. Xi to launch an invasion of Taiwan.
“He has the incentives to go to war because China is in crisis. They’re experiencing debt defaults by major property companies, plummeting property prices, a declining economy, worsening food shortages, deteriorating environment, and failing local governments,” he stated at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney on Aug. 19.
“Xi Jinping knows he’s being blamed for all these problems. He knows he has no solution to them, so he could very well go out and start a war to divert the Chinese people from his policy mistakes,” Mr. Chang told The Epoch Times after the speech.
When asked if the CCP can afford a war, Mr. Chang responded affirmatively: “I think that they can afford a war.
“I don’t think that they’re ready to go to war, but that doesn’t mean they won’t start a war because they might think that if they don’t start a war now, they’ll never be able to accomplish what they set out to do, so they very well may decide their best chance is now, and that means they can take us by surprise,” he added.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu believes that the Chinese regime is “more likely” to take action against Taiwan in 2027, as the CCP leader may view aggression towards Taiwan as a way to gain support from the Chinese people.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Now loading...