China's Taiwan policy: Beijing labels Taipei ‘core interest’, threats and drills escalate; All you need to know

Beijing's claim over democratic Taiwan is a geopolitical flashpoint, sparking diplomatic rows and military manoeuvres as China's leader Xi Jinping has declared "reunification" with the self-ruled island inevitable.

Here is what you need to know about China's policy on Taiwan:

Why does China want Taiwan?

The rift between China and Taiwan dates back to China's civil war, which ended in 1949 when Mao Zedong's communist forces defeated their nationalist enemies, the Kuomintang (KMT) party of Chiang Kai-shek.


Chiang and the KMT forces fled to Taiwan and from there claimed rulership of all China -- just as the mainland claimed Taiwan.

China says its "historic mission" is the "reunification" of Taiwan with the mainland, which it sees as a matter of national identity.

It calls Taiwan an "inalienable part" of its territory, claiming it as a province, and refers to Taiwanese as "Chinese compatriots across the Strait".

Taiwan, roughly 160 kilometres (about 100 miles) from China's southeastern Fujian province, sits across a crucial waterway for global shipping and in an island chain the United States sees as a defence against Beijing's military reach.

It also produces around 90 percent of the world's most advanced computing chips, though analysts warn a large conflict would devastate China's economy.

What is the 'One China' principle?

Beijing's position on Taiwan is summed up in its "One China" principle, which it demands diplomatic partners to recognise.

The principle maintains that there is only one China in the world, and that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the country's sole legal representative.

However, Beijing's "One China" principle differs from other countries' China policies, which generally recognise the PRC as the sole Chinese government, but maintain a grey area on unofficial interactions or security deals with Taipei.

Only 12 nations still recognise Taiwan diplomatically, including the Vatican.

Those interactions arouse fury from Beijing, which describes Taiwan as "the core of China's core interests" and threatens countermeasures to diplomatic engagement with Taipei.

Will reunification happen?

China has not officially provided a timeline for when it hopes to take Taiwan.

Officials in the United States have previously cited 2027 as a possible timeline for a Chinese invasion of the island.

Analysts have also predicted that China will seek to control Taiwan by 2049, the PRC's 100th anniversary.

Beijing has threatened the use of force to seize control of Taiwan and has in recent years vastly increased military drills around the island.

China has launched six major rounds of manoeuvres since 2022 after a visit to Taiwan by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi that enraged Beijing.

Beijing's latest large-scale exercises around Taiwan came in December, lasted less than three days and were aimed at simulating a blockade of key ports.

They came less than two weeks after a round of arms sales to Taipei by the United States, Taiwan's main security backer.

They also followed comments from Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November that the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo.

How does China view Taiwan's leader?

Beijing's vitriol for Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which it labels "separatists", has grown increasingly pronounced since his election in 2024.

Lai, who secured an unprecedented third consecutive term for the DPP, has said "Taiwan is clearly a country" and argues Beijing distorts a UN resolution to claim the island is not a sovereign state.

China's military last year depicted Lai as a cartoon worm in official communications, calling him a "parasite poisoning Taiwan island".

Chinese police have also opened a probe into prominent Taiwanese lawmaker Puma Shen, whom it previously sanctioned, for alleged criminal "separatist activities".