Taiwan Issue Red Line That Cannot Be Crossed, Chinese President Says

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The meeting of the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which was held on November 15-16 in Peru's capital city, Lima.
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The Taiwan issue is a red line that cannot be crossed, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Lima.

"The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development right are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations," Xi Jinping said, as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese president told Biden in Lima that peace on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and separatism were as incompatible as fire and water, the Foreign Ministry also noted.

"President Xi stressed that cross-Strait peace and stability and 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities are irreconcilable as water and fire. If the US side cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities in seeking 'Taiwan independence,' handles the Taiwan question with extra prudence, unequivocally opposes 'Taiwan independence,' and supports China's peaceful reunification," the ministry said.

China's commitment to mutual respect and peaceful coexistence as principles for the development of China-US relations remains unchanged, President Xi stressed.

"China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged. Its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged. Its position of resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged," he pointed out.