Pelosi visit to Taiwan warned by experts

China will definitely take comprehensive countermeasures, including military means, if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, experts warned.

They made the remarks at a forum organized by the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Friday in Beijing. The event came after President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Xi emphasized that resolutely safeguarding the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the firm will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. "Those who play with fire will perish by it," he added.

The call was made as tensions between China and the US have escalated amid reports that Pelosi, who had canceled a journey to Taiwan in April when she tested positive for COVID-19, is considering a new one next month.

Wu Yongping, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Tsinghua University, said it is the will of the Chinese nation and China's national interest to resolve the Taiwan question and realize national reunification.

"China has always made it very clear, however, some countries and forces are making a serious mistake in downplaying this issue," he said, adding that "The consequence of challenging the will has been made clear by Xi in his call with Biden that those who play with fire will perish by it."

Zhang Guanhua, deputy director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said if Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is made, tensions between the two sides will rise, which will have a severe impact on peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Taiwan's economy will be the first to pay a heavy price, which will further impact the industrial and supply chains of the Asia-Pacific region and increase the risk of a global economic downturn and inflation.

"The visit will be a blatant provocation to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and it will clearly reveal who is the destroyer of cross-Straits relations and peace in the Asia-Pacific region," he added.

Zhang Hua, a researcher in the Taiwan Studies Institute of the CASS, said the idea of US politicians winning votes by playing the Taiwan card to contain China is questionable as people in the US are more concerned about inflation, unemployment, race and gun issues than foreign affairs.

"If the visit is made, China is expected to take comprehensive countermeasures involving military, political, economic and other fields. These are costs that the US cannot afford," he said, adding there are short, medium and long-term countermeasures, explicit and implicit measures, as well as sanctions at the individual level.

"Escalating the so-called vicious circle will lead to serious military conflicts, which is severely harmful to peace," he said, calling on Pelosi to give peace a chance and not to make a historic mistake.

Leng Bo, a researcher at the Taiwan Studies Institute of the CASS, said Pelosi's visit will seriously undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, challenging China's core interests, and it is intolerable.

"The Chinese military will not sit idly by, and China's countermeasures will definitely include military means, and the level of military means will be higher than in recent years," he added.