No matter who wants to split Taiwan from China, Zhang said<\/a> in his opening remarks, China\u2019s military will never agree to it. In a veiled critique of the U.S., Zhang mentioned a \u201ccertain country\u201d that interferes in Asia\u2019s regional affairs and the internal affairs of other countries.<\/p>\n PLA Lieutenant General H\u00e9 L\u00e9i \u4f55\u96f7 told state media Global Times at the forum that any Chinese use of force around Taiwan would be legitimate and just<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the Chinese government is forced to use force to resolve the Taiwan question, it will be a war for reunification, a just and legitimate war supported and participated in by the Chinese people, and a war to crush foreign interference,\u201d He said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States must resolutely correct any behavior that interferes in China\u2019s internal affairs and undermines China\u2019s core interests, especially when it comes to the Taiwan issue and the South China Sea issue,\u201d He told Chinese state media<\/a> CGTN in a separate interview.<\/p>\n Still, General Zhang also stressed a need for developing and deepening defense cooperation with the U.S. A Pentagon report to Congress released this month showed there had been<\/a> more \u201crisky and coercive\u201d Chinese intercepts of U.S. aircraft in the past two years than in the previous decade, a sign of ratcheted-up tensions and heightened risk of miscalculation between the two countries.<\/p>\n Zhang\u2019s remarks on improving U.S.-China defense ties were a notable sign of potential future trends, managing director of German Marshall Fund\u2019s Indo-Pacific program Bonnie Glaser told The China Project.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are several signs that Beijing is willing to resume some of the channels of dialogue and interaction between the U.S. and Chinese militaries,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect this will be agreed upon at the Biden-Xi summit,\u201d she added, referencing a meeting between Xi and Biden during Xi\u2019s expected visit to the U.S. for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month.<\/p>\n The U.S. delegation to the forum is being led by Xanthi Carras, principal director in the office of the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. A U.S. defense chief has never attended the forum.<\/p>\n Delegations from more than 90 countries<\/a> attended the conference, a new high for the Xiangshan Forum, which some observers say is Beijing\u2019s answer to the yearly Shangri-la Dialogue, which takes place in Singapore. The Beijing event is named after the \u201cFragrant Hills\u201d (\u9999\u5c71 Xi\u0101ng Sh\u0101n), an imperial park in part of the Western Hills in the suburbs of the city, which is also where the People\u2019s Liberation Army has an underground command center and nuclear bunker<\/a>.<\/p>\n Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is also attending the conference in Beijing. He touted strong ties with China and took aim at the U.S. and NATO. He said,<\/a> “The United States and NATO continue to seriously hope that they will be able to undermine Russia’s security and deprive us of the will to resist.”<\/p>\n \u201cRussian-Chinese partnership and strategic engagement are being developed,\u201d in contrast to worsening hotspots of conflict, which are a product of \u201cWestern escapades,\u201d Shoigu added<\/a>.<\/p>\n General Zhang echoed the warm feelings<\/a> in a meeting with Shoigu at the forum. \u201cTogether with Russia, China is ready to actively respond to various security threats and challenges as well as jointly maintain global strategic balance and stability,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n Beijing has attempted to portray itself as neutral in Russia\u2019s ongoing war in Ukraine and has refrained from providing Russia with direct military support, but has continued<\/a> buying Russian energy resources and selling the country dual-use equipment, a critical lifeline amid sweeping Western economic sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The annual Xiangshan security and military conference in Beijing runs from October 29 to October 31. China\u2019s military representatives are talking tough on Taiwan but signaling willingness to resume exchanges with their American counterparts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19989,"featured_media":288805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14425,14045,13919,13795,13721],"column":[],"class":[],"coauthors":[18524],"acf":[],"la_post_categories":{"uncategorized":"Uncategorized"},"la_post_tags":{"access":"Access","military":"military","russia":"Russia","taiwan":"Taiwan","us-china-relations":"US-China relations"},"content_writeup":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s what else you need to know about China today:<\/p>\n China\u2019s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in October<\/strong>, data from the country\u2019s National Bureau of Statistics showed<\/a> today. The country\u2019s official manufacturing purchasing managers\u2019 index (PMI) recorded 49.5 this month, down from the 50.2 reading<\/a> in September. (PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that level signal contraction.)<\/p>\n Former Premier L\u01d0 K\u00e8qi\u00e1ng \u674e\u514b\u5f3a will be cremated on November 2,<\/strong> when flags will fly at half-mast across the country to mourn the late leader, Chinese state media reported<\/a>. Li died from a heart attack<\/a> at the age of 68 on October 27.<\/p>\n But China\u2019s powerful censors have warned mourners against \u201coverly effusive comments\u201d that may \u201coffer exaggerated praise on the surface of what is actually an act of criticism\u201d about his legacy, China Digital Times reported<\/a>, given how the passing of any top Chinese Communist Party official can become a politically sensitive occasion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Antisemitism is on the rise in China <\/strong>amid the Israel-Hamas war, despite the Chinese government\u2019s efforts to position itself as a diplomatic peace broker<\/a>. Since the war broke out after the October 7 Hamas attacks, Chinese social media users have demonstrated more support for Palestine<\/a> than for Israel. Meanwhile, searches and mentions involving the phrase \u201canti-Jew\u201d have proliferated across<\/a> the Chinese social media app WeChat, along with some comments that either threaten Jews outright or condemn those in support of them. (The China Project first reported on this phenomenon two weeks ago<\/a>.)<\/p>\n China paid tribute to a group of visiting veteran American volunteer pilots <\/strong>yesterday in Beijing to celebrate the friendship between the two countries<\/a> during World War II, amid a flurry of recent diplomatic activity between U.S. and Chinese officials to relieve tensions.<\/p>\n The First American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the \u201cFlying Tigers,\u201d were formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China, operating from 1941\u20131942. \u201cThe Chinese people would always remember the heroic deeds of the Flying Tigers and never forget the old friends,\u201d Chinese Vice President H\u00e1n Zh\u00e8ng \u97e9\u6b63 said at the meeting<\/a>, per state broadcaster CCTV.<\/p>\n \u201cChina and the United States should adhere to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and make greater contribution[s] to world peace and development,\u201d he added, reiterating statements made by X\u00ed J\u00ecnp\u00edng \u4e60\u8fd1\u5e73<\/a> in a letter to the group\u2019s veterans in September. As we noted then<\/a>, \u201cwhenever Chinese officials mention the Flying Tigers, it\u2019s a sure sign that they want to talk to their American counterparts,\u201d so this looks like another signal that Xi will attend the APEC summit in San Francisco on November 15\u201317.<\/p>\n Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD posted a record quarterly profit <\/strong>of 10.41 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) in the third quarter, an 82.2% increase<\/a> from a year earlier. It\u2019s the latest sign that BYD is closing in on rival Tesla<\/a>, after it dethroned the Elon Musk-owned EV firm as the world\u2019s largest electric vehicle maker in 2022.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company controlled by Warren Buffett, sold 820,500 Hong Kong-listed shares<\/a> of BYD valued at HK$201.73 million ($25.78 million) on October 25, according to a stock exchange filing today.<\/p>\n China’s state-backed chip investment fund injected 14.56 billion yuan <\/strong>($1.99 billion) into a memory chip company called Changxin Xinqiao, as Beijing seeks to develop its chipmaking capabilities at home.<\/p>\n China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, or more commonly known as the \u201cBig Fund,\u201d contributed 33.15% of the total registered capital of Hebei-based Changxin Xinqiao, according to an update dated October 26 to the company’s registration information on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS) per Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chinese state media: <\/strong>Xinhua News Agency\u2019s top story titled \u201cCentral Financial Work Conference held in Beijing<\/a>.\u201d All members of the leading seven-man Politburo Standing Committee attended, and Xi Jinping and Premier L\u01d0 Qi\u00e1ng \u674e\u5f3a both delivered \u201cimportant speeches.\u201d<\/p>\n The conference used to be called the \u201cNational Financial Work Conference\u201d (\u4e2d\u592e\u91d1\u878d\u5de5\u4f5c\u4f1a\u8bae\u5728\u5317\u4eac\u4e3e\u884c) but this year was renamed \u201cCentral Financial Work Conference\u201d (\u4e2d\u592e\u91d1\u878d\u5de5\u4f5c\u4f1a\u8bae\u5728\u5317\u4eac\u4e3e\u884c), possibly another sign of the centralization of all important decision making under Xi, and the increasing politicization of China\u2019s economic management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The first National Financial Work Conference was held in 1997.<\/p>\n The People\u2019s Daily today follows yesterday\u2019s Xinhua top story<\/a> with an article and photo of Xi Jinping mansplaining women\u2019s rights<\/a> to a group of women from the All-China Women’s Federation. Xi\u2019s real intent is perhaps made clear in this section of the People\u2019s Daily story:<\/p>\n The advancement of the women\u2019s cause not only facilitates individual development of women, but also promotes family and social harmony as well as the development of the country and the Chinese nation. It is necessary to tell stories of good family style and to guide women<\/strong> to play their unique role in promoting the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and fostering a positive family atmosphere<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thechinaproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-6.jpg\")
Russia-China ties<\/h3>\n