Xi Jinping Says Taiwan ‘Reunification’ Must Happen: What His Speech Means and Why Taipei Pushed Back

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said Taiwan’s “reunification” with China “must be realised” and “will certainly be realised”, in his strongest public statement on the issue in months. Speaking in Beijing on Thursday, 12 November 2026, Xi promised to pursue reunification peacefully – but Taiwan’s government swiftly rejected his words, and Chinese military aircraft flew near the island on the same day.

The speech matters because it comes at a sensitive moment. Xi is due to meet United States President Donald Trump again next week at the APEC summit in China, and Taiwan is about to hold important local elections. The two sides disagree completely about Taiwan’s future, and that disagreement sits at the centre of one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints.

This article explains what Xi said, why he said it now, how Taiwan responded, and what could happen next.

What Xi Jinping said

Xi was speaking at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing at a meeting to mark the 160th anniversary of the birth of Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary leader who helped end centuries of imperial rule in China in 1911 and founded the Republic of China.

In his speech, Xi said resolving the Taiwan question was an “unwavering historical mission” of China’s Communist Party. He then added the line that made headlines around the world:

“The tide of history cannot be stopped. The complete reunification of the motherland must be realised, and it will certainly be realised.”

Xi said China sticks to “peaceful reunification and the policy of ‘one country, two systems'”. That is Beijing’s long-standing offer: Taiwan would become part of China but keep its own economic and political system for a time, similar to the arrangement promised to Hong Kong.

He also said China was willing to talk to Taiwan while upholding the “one-China principle” — Beijing’s position that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one country. And he called on all Chinese people, including those in Taiwan, to join hands to oppose Taiwan independence “separatist” forces and work for the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties.

Notably, Xi made no mention of using force. But that does not mean force is off the table. China has never given up the use of force to take Taiwan, and its military operates around the island almost every day, extending its reach further into the Pacific.

Why Sun Yat-sen matters to both sides

The choice of occasion was no accident. Sun Yat-sen is one of the few historical figures claimed by both Beijing and Taipei — but they remember him very differently.

Beijing calls Sun a great national hero and patriot, as well as the forerunner of the 1949 communist revolution. That revolution forced the defeated Republic of China government to flee to Taiwan, where it remains to this day.

In Taiwan, Sun is officially considered the “father of the nation”, and his portrait hangs in the presidential office. But his political philosophy, the “Three Principles of the People”, is no longer a required text for schoolchildren, and Taiwan’s government has been striking a tougher tone about the role of the Republic of China in history.

Just last month, Taiwan called on its people to steer clear of China’s events marking the Sun anniversary, saying China had a distorted view of him and his legacy.

Taiwan has been particularly upset by Beijing’s effort to claim credit for the victory in the Second World War. Taipei points out that it was the Republic of China government that fought alongside the Allies — the People’s Republic of China did not exist at the time.

Xi, in his speech, called Sun a great national hero, a great patriot and a “great pioneer of China’s democratic revolution”. He said Sun “consistently upheld the unity of the country and the solidarity of the nation, and he firmly opposed all words and actions that split the country or the nation”.

In other words, Xi used a figure both sides revere to argue that history itself demands reunification. Taiwan hears the same history very differently.

How Taiwan responded

Taiwan’s government dismissed Xi’s remarks. Its Mainland Affairs Council said neither the government nor Taiwan’s people could accept “one country, two systems”, which it said would ultimately mean giving up Taiwan’s democratic way of life.

That rejection is not new. The “one country, two systems” model is not supported by any major political party in Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan have watched what happened in Hong Kong, where Beijing promised the same formula and then tightened its control, and they do not want the same deal.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China. China calls Lai a “separatist” and has refused to speak with him. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

On the same day as Xi’s speech, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan together with Chinese warships. The flights began on Thursday, the day of the speech.

The message from Beijing was therefore a mixed one: peaceful words in the Great Hall of the People, and warplanes in the skies around Taiwan on the same day.

Why Xi spoke now

Timing is everything in Chinese politics, and three dates help explain why Xi chose this week to speak about Taiwan.

First, the APEC summit is just a week away. It will be held in Shenzhen, China’s southern tech hub, and Xi is due to meet President Donald Trump there again. Taiwan is always part of the background to any meeting between the leaders of the United States and China, because America is Taiwan’s most important source of weapons and its main international backer, even though Washington does not formally recognise Taiwan as a country.

Second, Taiwan is a little more than two weeks away from important local elections. Beijing will be watching the results closely for signs of how Taiwanese voters feel about the ruling party’s tough line on China.

Third, tensions around Taiwan have been rising. The G7 group of leading economies recently warned China that its military moves east of Taiwan threaten regional stability, a sign that the issue is now firmly on the agenda of Western governments. Read more: G7 Warns China Over Taiwan

Xi’s speech fits a pattern. He regularly uses big anniversaries and set-piece occasions to restate China’s position on Taiwan. What made this speech stand out was its confidence — “must be realised, and it will certainly be realised” — and its insistence that the outcome is a matter of history, not choice.

What is the Taiwan dispute about?

For readers new to the story, here is the dispute in simple terms.

China views Taiwan, a democratically governed island of about 23 million people, as its own territory. Beijing says Taiwan is a breakaway province that must eventually return to Chinese rule, by agreement if possible, by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s government says the island has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China, which was founded in 1949. Taiwan has its own president, parliament, military and currency, and holds free elections. Its people, through those elections, have repeatedly chosen leaders who reject Beijing’s claims.

Most countries in the world, including the United States, do not formally recognise Taiwan as an independent country. But many of them, led by the US, sell Taiwan weapons and maintain close unofficial ties. Washington’s official policy is deliberately unclear about whether it would defend Taiwan if China attacked — a position often called “strategic ambiguity”.

That ambiguity is part of what makes the Taiwan Strait one of the most dangerous places in the world. A miscalculation by any side — Beijing, Taipei or Washington — could turn a political dispute into a conflict that would affect the whole world.

What happens next

Several things are worth watching in the coming weeks.

The Trump–Xi meeting.

When the two leaders meet at APEC in Shenzhen, Taiwan is likely to come up, even if neither side talks about it in public afterwards. Any signal about how the US views the issue will be read closely in both Beijing and Taipei.

Taiwan’s local elections.

The results will show whether voters are rewarding or punishing President Lai’s tough stance towards Beijing. A strong result for the ruling party would encourage it to keep its line; a poor result could open space for opposition parties that favour a softer approach.

Chinese military activity.

The 29 aircraft detected on Thursday are part of a near-daily pattern of Chinese flights and naval patrols around Taiwan. If the tempo rises further after the speech, it will be a sign that Beijing is backing its words with pressure.

The response from other countries.

The G7 has already warned China over its moves near Taiwan. If more governments speak up, Beijing may face a diplomatic cost for its pressure campaign — but it has shown in the past that it is willing to pay that cost.

For now, the positions of both sides are unchanged. Xi says reunification is inevitable and a matter of history. Taiwan says its future can only be decided by its own people. Neither side is willing to give ground, and the gap between them is as wide as ever.

The bigger picture

Xi’s speech is a reminder that the Taiwan question is not going away. It has been unresolved since 1949, and it has outlasted generations of leaders on both sides. But the stakes are rising as China’s military grows stronger, as Taiwan’s sense of its own identity grows sharper, and as the United States and China compete more openly for influence in Asia.

The speech itself changed nothing on the ground. No deadline was set, no new policy was announced, and no threat of force was made. But it did make one thing clear: for Xi Jinping, Taiwan is not a side issue. It is, in his words, an “unwavering historical mission” — and he intends to see it through.

Frequently asked questions

What did Xi Jinping say about Taiwan?

On 12 November 2026, Xi said “the complete reunification of the motherland must be realised, and it will certainly be realised”, calling it an “unwavering historical mission” of China’s Communist Party. He pledged to pursue reunification peacefully under “one country, two systems”, and made no mention of using force.

How did Taiwan respond?

Taiwan’s government dismissed the remarks. Its Mainland Affairs Council said neither the government nor the people could accept “one country, two systems”. Taiwan’s defence ministry also reported 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters and drones, patrolling around the island on the same day.

What is “one country, two systems”?

It is Beijing’s offer for Taiwan: the island would become part of China but keep its own economic and political system for a period. No major political party in Taiwan supports the idea.

Why does the Taiwan issue matter to the world?

Taiwan sits in a vital shipping route, makes most of the world’s most advanced computer chips, and is a point of tension between the United States and China. A conflict over Taiwan could disrupt the global economy and draw in the world’s biggest powers.

Will China use force against Taiwan?

China has never renounced the use of force, and its military operates around Taiwan almost daily. But Xi’s latest speech stressed peaceful reunification and did not mention force. Most analysts believe Beijing prefers to achieve its goal without a war — while keeping the threat of one in reserve.

Conclusion

Xi Jinping’s speech on the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s birth was both a history lesson and a warning. He framed Taiwan’s reunification as the unavoidable direction of history, promised to seek it peacefully, and used a hero claimed by both sides to make his case.

Taiwan’s answer was equally clear: its people will not accept “one country, two systems”, and only they can decide their future. With a Trump–Xi meeting days away and Taiwanese elections around the corner, the next few weeks will show whether words are followed by action — and whether the two sides can keep a decades-old dispute from turning into something worse.

Sources

• The Hindu, “Xi says Taiwan ‘reunification’ must happen as history cannot be stopped”, 12 November 2026: https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/chinas-xi-says-taiwan-reunification-must-happen-as-history-cannot-be-stopped/article71692573.ece

• The Express Tribune, “China’s Xi says Taiwan ‘reunification’ must happen as history cannot be stopped”, 12 November 2026: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639932/chinas-xi-says-taiwan-reunification-must-happen-as-history-cannot-be-stopped
• KWSN, “China’s Xi says Taiwan ‘reunification’ must happen as history cannot be stopped”, 11 November 2026: https://kwsn.com/2026/11/11/chinas-xi-says-taiwan-reunification-must-happen-as-history-cannot-be-stopped/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.