Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen says China attack unlikely for now
- The leader says the Chinese leadership is ‘overwhelmed’ by internal challenges for the moment
- However, Beijing is still ‘interested in interfering’ in Taiwan’s coming presidential election, Tsai said
China is not likely to consider a major attack on Taiwan for now due to domestic challenges, the island’s President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, although Beijing is trying to sway its coming election.
“I think the Chinese leadership at this juncture is overwhelmed by its internal challenges,” Tsai told the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York.
“My thought is that perhaps this is not a time for them to consider a major invasion of Taiwan,” she added in a recorded interview.
Tsai was responding to questions about the risks of an attack, in the aftermath of a closely watched meeting between the US and Chinese presidents, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, in California this month.
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The leaders’ talks, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, were aimed at preventing growing tensions from spiralling into conflict.
But Xi and Biden remain far apart on the flashpoint of Taiwan, with the Chinese leader telling his US counterpart that reunification was “unstoppable”.