Beijing's clear signal to Washington: We will never compromise on Taiwan

After a long and tense delay, Washington and Beijing resumed military talks with Chinese military officials visiting the Pentagon for the first time in four years. The Chinese delegation's visit to Washington followed a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in California in November 2023, followed by US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.C. Brown's meeting with his Chinese counterpart General Liu Zhenli in December. The 2023 annual meetings, known as the US-China Defense Policy Coordination Dialogue, were canceled by China in protest of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August 2022 visit to Taiwan. Following the meeting, China suspended all talks between military officials and began its largest military exercise in decades, including a missile launch over the island of Taiwan. In the letter, the Chinese president said the future of the world requires stability and improved relations between Beijing and Washington. Following the recent meeting of Chinese and US military officials on Monday and Tuesday, the Chinese military said in a statement addressed to the United States: "As Beijing insists that it will never compromise or back down on the Taiwan issue, the United States must also understand the roots of maritime problems." security, and he must fully understand the situation and strictly restrain his forward forces and stop exaggerating and making a fuss." Relations between Beijing and Washington remain tense, and China's Foreign Ministry announced on Jan. 7 that it had imposed sanctions on five U.S. defense companies in response to arms sales to Taiwan and Washington's moves to impose sanctions on Chinese companies and figures. Chinese officials consider Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory and have always warned against U.S. moves that raise tensions regarding arms sales to Taiwan. Beijing has always considered this island an integral part of the Chinese motherland, a position supported by many countries, including Russia. Considering all these qualities and complexities, it must be said that one of the biggest issues between China and the United States in the South China Sea is the issue of Taiwan independence.