China Renews Taiwan Unification Push with Economic Lure

China has reiterated its call for Taiwan to accept unification, saying it would bring significant economic benefits. Beijing says "peaceful reunification" would bring the island greater stability, investment certainty and new opportunities through access to the Chinese market.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan's economy would gain new momentum by combining the island's technological capabilities with the Chinese market.

Taiwan has long rejected these proposals. President Lai Ching-te has stressed that the island's future can only be decided by its people and that Beijing has no right to claim it. He warned that reunification presented as a peaceful solution could bring serious problems.

Lai also pointed to Chinese military activities around the island, including exercises and operations in the so-called grey zone, which Taiwan describes as an effort to change the status quo without open conflict. Beijing describes these actions as legitimate.

Taiwan's economy is meanwhile growing mainly thanks to semiconductor production, which is central to the global technology sector. China's "one country, two systems" proposal does not have broader political support on the island.

(reuters, max)