BEIJING
\nChina\u2019s leader Xi Jinping has called for faster military development and offered little in the way of reconciliation to Washington, which recently imposed sweeping curbs of Beijing\u2019s semiconductor ambitions.
\nPresident Xi stresses on military and technological developments in a speech to some 2,000 Chinese Communist Party delegates.
\nChina has the world\u2019s second-largest defence budget after the United States and is trying to extend its reach by developing ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers and overseas outposts. (AP)
\nXi spoke on Sunday as the party opened a congress that was closely watched by companies, governments and the Chinese public for signs of its economic and political direction.
\nThe People\u2019s Liberation Army needs to \u201csafeguard China\u2019s dignity and core interests,\u201d Xi said, referring to a list of territorial claims and other issues over which Beijing says it is ready to go to war.
\nChina has the world\u2019s second-largest defence budget after the United States and is spending heavily on developing ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers and overseas outposts.
\n\u201cWe will work faster to modernise military theory, personnel and weapons,\u201d Xi said in the speech. \u201cWe will enhance the military\u2019s strategic capabilities.\u201d
\nXi said Beijing will use force if needed to exert its right over Taiwan, which most of the world considers to be an integral part of China.
\nIn recent months, Chinese fighter jets have flown near the island, raising tensions of a confrontation.
\nChina\u2019s military activity gained pace around the time of a controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan in August. She was the highest-ranked US official to visit Taiwan in a quarter-century.
\nUnification of the two sides \u201cwill be achieved,\u201d Xi said.
\nBeijing needs to prevent \u201cinterference by outside forces,\u201d he said, a reference to foreign politicians Beijing said, are encouraging Taiwan to make its de facto independence permanent, a step that Chinese leadership says would lead to war.
\n\u201cWe will continue to strive for peaceful reunification,\u201d Xi said. \u201cBut we will never promise to renounce the use of force. And we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.\u201d
\nFormer president Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in 2019. Trump\u2019s successor, Joe Biden, has kept those penalties in place and this month increased restrictions on Chinese access to US chip technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING China\u2019s leader Xi Jinping has called for faster military development and offered little in the way of reconciliation to Washington, which recently imposed sweeping curbs of Beijing\u2019s semiconductor ambitions. President Xi stresses on military and technological developments in a speech to some 2,000 Chinese Communist Party delegates. China has the world\u2019s second-largest defence budget […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-289703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n