The Taiwan question will be solved through final reunification, as China has made its position on the very question absolutely clear, said Cui Tiankai, former Chinese ambassador to the United States, on Tuesday.
Cui made the remarks when he attended a session on China-U.S. relations within the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, and talked about the Taiwan question.
"We have made our position on the Taiwan question absolutely clear. And we have been consistent. This is the red line of the red lines. This is the core interest, that's it. Of course, people might expect some new thinking from the other side, but we don't have the illusion and think that it would be easy. But let me say this, the final reunification of China would solve this question once and for all, [and] would bring about lasting stability in the Taiwan Strait," said Cui.
The Taiwan question is a scar left over by a full-blown civil war fought between the forces led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party about eight decades ago. In 1949, the remnants of the defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China was founded under the leadership of the CPC.
The unresolved civil war and foreign interference have left the two sides of the Strait in prolonged political confrontation. However, the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory has never changed.
Taiwan question is red line of red lines: former Chinese ambassador to US
China and Pakistan, sharing ironclad friendship, should deepen practical cooperation across all domains, Defense Secretary of Pakistan Muhammad Ali said in Beijing.
Speaking in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) on the sidelines of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Ali praised the forum as an exceptional platform for advancing security cooperation.
"It provides a great opportunity for advancing the cooperative approaches towards security. And it's a brilliant forum," said Ali.
On the bilateral relations, the Pakistani defense official said that China and Pakistan enjoy the deep historical roots of military cooperation.
Joint military exercises between the two countries' ground, navies, and air forces have become flagship cooperative projects in recent years.
"As we know that Pakistan and China, we are all-weather friends, and it's a relationship which is termed as the ironclad relationship. As we used to call it deeper than the ocean and higher than in the mountains in the Himalayas. I think, especially in the field of military cooperation, I think the relationship has been very deep rooted, very historical, a hard core military cooperation of course," said Ali.
Ali also said that the cooperation between the two countries should expand to more areas.
"There is now a time where I believe that the cooperation needs to move towards technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, and other domains. And China, as we understand, China is leading the globe actually in artificial intelligence. And I think China can really help us that way in technology, artificial intelligence and many other domains," said Ali.
Ali also commended China's constructive geopolitical role, saying that China has consistently remained at the forefront of resolving regional and international disputes.
"China has been, politically and militarily, always at the forefront of resolving the disputes. While China is a very strong country militarily and of course politically, I think China has never forced resolutions. China has been encouraging different regional countries to resolve and helping them to get the issue resolved. Same is the case with the China and Pakistan," said Ali.
Under the theme of "Build Consensus on Stability, Advance Security Governance Together," the three-day forum opened in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, bringing together delegations from almost 100 countries, regions and international organizations.
The forum this year focuses on the prominent and pressing major challenges currently facing the international security landscape.
China, Pakistan should deepen practical cooperation across all domains: Pakistani defense official
