China’s Xi hails nation’s technological progress and renews pledge to take back Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hailed his country’s technological progress in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors while once again insisting his country would annex self-ruled Taiwan.

During his New Year’s Eve address broadcast Wednesday evening by state media, Xi praised the country’s advancements in key sectors including military tech and space exploration. Images ranging from humanoid robots performing kung fu to new hydropower projects rolled on the screen as he spoke.

“We sought to energize high-quality development through innovation,” Xi said while thanking Chinese people for contributing to the country’s economic growth over the past five years.

China plans its economic development over periods of five years and is preparing to discuss its new five-year plan at the upcoming legislative session in March.

The country is set to speed up self-reliance in science and technology as the United States imposes increasingly tight controls on access to semiconductors and other high-tech items.

Xi also praised the country’s rising prominence on the world stage by listing high-level political events and exchanges it hosted over the past year.

Regarding Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers sovereign territory, Xi reiterated Beijing’s annexation intentions.

“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship,” he said. “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”

China this week conducted two days of military drills around Taiwan, launching rockets and sending aircraft and warships in response to a planned arms sale by the U.S. to the island.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te in his own New Year’s address on Thursday pledged to resist China’s ” expansionist ambitions ” and bolster the island’s self-defense.