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Chinese President Xi Jinping told European Commission President von der Leyen that the United States was trying to encourage Beijing to attack Taiwan, according to people familiar with the matter.
China’s leaders also conveyed the warning to their domestic officials, one of the people said.
Xi issued the warning during a meeting with von der Leyen in April 2023 that was described by multiple people to the Financial Times. Xi said the United States was trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, but he wouldn’t take the bait. Another person said Xi had issued a similar warning to officials.
The remarks offer a glimpse into President Xi Jinping’s thinking on Taiwan, the most thorny issue in U.S.-China relations.
Some Chinese scholars and military veterans argue that the United States is trying to provoke Beijing by providing weapons to Taiwan and pushing other steps that could lure China into a military conflict.
Former Chinese ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai, speaking at the Asia Society in January, implied of the United States that China would “not fall into any trap that someone may have prepared for us.”
Xi’s remarks to von der Leyen marked the first known time that he has made such a claim to a foreign leader. Xi also said that a confrontation with the United States would destroy many of China’s achievements and undermine his goal of achieving a “great rejuvenation” by 2049.
“If Xi truly believes the United States is actively seeking a confrontation with China over Taiwan, then concerns that he is creating an information vacuum or getting bad advice from his subordinates are disturbingly real,” said Jude Blanchette, a China expert at the CSIS think tank.
The revelations come after tensions rose across the Taiwan Strait, with China responding in May to the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist” with large-scale military drills around the island.
Washington is obligated under the Taiwan Relations Act to support Taiwan’s independent defense, but the Biden administration has long stressed that it does not support Taiwanese independence and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo.
China has become increasingly anxious about U.S. intentions in recent years, while the U.S. has become increasingly concerned about China’s aggressive military activities around Taiwan.
One Chinese scholar said Washington was “actively encouraging Taiwanese independence forces” and that the United States knew that if Taiwan crossed the line by declaring independence, China would be forced to take military action.
Blanchette said one possible explanation for Xi’s comments was that some of his subordinates were trying to steer him away from more aggressive policies.
“Whatever the explanation for Xi’s comments, it is clear that the decision-making environment, and the information flowing into it, has been distorted by those close to Xi Jinping and by Xi’s own authoritarian behavior,” Blanchette said.
Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund, said the remarks could be part of China’s attempt to pull Europe away from the United States on the Taiwan issue, but it’s also possible that Xi believed them.
China’s embassy in Washington did not comment on Xi’s remarks but said the United States sells arms to Taiwan and supports “separatist forces”.
A spokesman for Ms von der Leyen said she was not providing details about the private meeting. The White House declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Henry Foy in Brussels
