[Jimbuna]

China says Asia on brink of 'dangerous decade' as Beijing slams Biden's Taiwan 'trap'

China's former envoy to Washington insisted Beijing will not be drawn into a war with the United States over the future of the island of Taiwan.

Cui Tiankai last month insisted his country will not fall for what he referred to as a "trap" by the US to precipitate existing tensions into a proxy war.

Speaking at an event organised by the Asia Society Policy Institute on January 25, Cui said: "They will supply military assistance, they will supply weapons for a proxy war, and the Chinese will be killing Chinese."

Referring to a potential war with the US, he added: "We will not fall into that trap."

He also warned neighbours that failing to cooperate to ease regional tensions could plunge Asia into a "dangerous decade."

President Xi Jinping has made no mystery of his aspirations to annex Taiwan to China proper, insisting Beijing has a long-standing claim over the island.

The People's Communist Party, however, has never controlled the island since taking power in 1949.

During a meeting with Joe Biden at the ASEAN Summit in San Francisco, Xi said that "China will realise reunification, and this is unstoppable."

On Tuesday, the US Senate passed a £75.5 billion ($95.3bn) bill to fund military aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

An estimated £3.4 billion ($4.83bn) would be set aside to provide support to US allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Taipei.
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