No timeline for Taiwan unification, Chinese official says

Beijing has no timetable for unification with Taiwan, a senior Chinese diplomat in Washington said, pushing back on American warnings that the Asian nation is seeking to speed up its plans for seizing the democratically run island.

Jing Quan, the No. 3 official at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said “we don’t want to use force against the island” but added that Beijing needs the capability to deter the government in Taipei from declaring independence.