Wei told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier defence summit, that China would "fight to the end" if anyone tried to split China from Taiwan, which Beijing considers a “sacred land”.
"No attempts to split China will succeed. Any interference in the Taiwan question is doomed to failure," said Wei, who was dressed in a general’s uniform of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
“We will strive for the process of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts but we make no promise to renounce the use of force. Any underestimation of the PLA's resolve and will is extremely dangerous,” he added, cited by AFP.
Wei also addressed the situation in the South China Sea, noting that it is generally stable, yet adding that “some countries from outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles in the name of freedom of navigation.”
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Wei also used the phrase “fight to the end” in regard to the ongoing trade war between world’s two largest economies. But, if Washington wanted to talk, "we will keep the door open", he added. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising tit-for-tat trade war, exchanging tariffs on $360 billion in two-way trade so far.