Xi Jinping Vows Unstoppable Reunification of China and Taiwan Amid Military Drills and Rising Tensions
In a New Year’s Eve address in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to reunify China and Taiwan, describing the reunification as unstoppable. The speech came after a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan conducted by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The live-fire exercises, named Justice Mission 2025, spanned two days and involved more than 200 warplanes. During the drills, 27 missiles were fired toward Taiwan, with several landing within 27 nautical miles of the island's coast. In addition, 25 Chinese Navy and Coast Guard ships remained circling Taiwan after the exercises concluded. Two surveillance balloons were also dispatched, with one crossing Taiwan’s northern coastline.
These drills followed a record US weapons sale to Taiwan valued at about $11 billion. In response to growing tensions, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te warned of China's expansionist ambitions in his own New Year’s address. He urged the Taiwanese parliament to pass defense-budget legislation despite opposition from certain parties.
Taiwan observed Taiwan Retrocession Day, marking the 1945 event as a national holiday following a 2025 law recognizing the date, highlighting historical narratives concerning cross-strait relations.
In his speech, Xi Jinping also highlighted China’s achievements in high technology and space exploration, including developments such as kickboxing robots and the Tianwen-2 space mission. He celebrated cultural exports like the video game Black Myth: Wukong and the animated film Ne Zha 2. Xi asserted that China is on track to meet its 5% GDP growth target.
Furthermore, Xi referenced multilateral forums hosted by Beijing, including the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, and outlined a geopolitical axis involving himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
