Taiwan has never been a country, was never one and will never be
At a summit in Beijing, Xi Jinping delivered an unambiguous warning to Donald Trump: mishandling the question of Taiwan risks drawing the world's two greatest powers into direct conflict. The One-China principle — China's insistence that Taiwan is not a sovereign nation but an inseparable part of its territory — has long been Beijing's immovable doctrine, and Xi made clear it would not become a bargaining chip. Thousands of miles away in Abuja, Chinese officials and Nigerian scholars reinforced the same message, weaving legal history and geopolitical pragmatism into an argument designed to make China's position feel not merely dominant, but inevitable.
- Xi Jinping opened the Beijing summit with a direct warning: any American miscalculation over Taiwan could push the two superpowers toward open conflict.
- China's embassy in Nigeria moved simultaneously, framing Taiwan's recent diplomatic outreach in Africa — including a visit to Eswatini — as dangerous separatist provocation rather than legitimate statecraft.
- Nigerian voices at the Abuja forum amplified Beijing's case, arguing that the country's long-term strategic and economic future lies firmly with China, not Taiwan.
- Of Africa's 54 nations, 53 now formally recognize the One-China principle, leaving Eswatini as the lone holdout — a statistic Beijing deploys as proof of global consensus.
- The twin pressure points — a superpower summit and a diplomatic forum in West Africa — reveal a coordinated effort to cement the One-China framework as settled international reality before Washington can test its edges.
When Donald Trump and Xi Jinping sat down in Beijing, the Chinese president wasted no time: any miscalculation over Taiwan, he warned, risked pushing the two powers toward direct conflict. It was not a private caution but an opening declaration — a signal that whatever else might be negotiated, this line would not move.
China's position has remained constant for decades. Taiwan, in Beijing's legal and historical accounting, is not a sovereign nation but an inseparable part of Chinese territory. That doctrine has hardened across much of the world's diplomatic machinery, and Xi's summit warning was only one front in a broader effort to reinforce it.
Thousands of miles away in Abuja, Chinese officials and Nigerian academics gathered at a media forum to make the same case. Dong Hairong, a counsellor at China's embassy in Nigeria, pointed to Taiwan's regional leader visiting Eswatini — one of the few African nations still maintaining ties with Taipei — and to reported contacts between Nigerian journalists and Taiwanese officials, framing both as attempts to legitimize separatism. Her argument was historical and legal: Taiwan has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times, was administered by China for centuries, and under post-World War II agreements was to be returned to China after Japanese occupation. "Taiwan has never been a country, was never one and will never be," she said.
Nigerian voices at the forum reinforced the message. Activist Segun Showunmi argued that Nigeria's strategic future lay with Beijing, not Taipei — a calculation he framed as pragmatism rather than ideology. Prof. Ghali Ibrahim praised China's patience in pursuing peaceful reunification and cited Taiwan's lack of legal sovereign status as the reason the One-China principle had achieved such sweeping recognition. Of Africa's 54 nations, 53 now formally accept it; only Eswatini does not.
What makes this moment distinct is the convergence of audiences. Trump's presence in Beijing elevates Taiwan from a regional tension to a central question in great-power relations, while the diplomatic work in Abuja serves a parallel purpose — building the international consensus that makes China's position appear not just dominant, but beyond dispute. Whether that consensus holds will depend on what unfolds between Washington and Beijing in the months ahead, and on whether nations like Nigeria continue to accept the framing that aligning with China means leaving Taiwan behind.
In Beijing, as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping sat down for their summit, the Chinese president made his position unmistakable: any miscalculation over Taiwan would risk pushing the two superpowers toward direct conflict. It was a warning delivered not in private, but as an opening statement—a signal that whatever else might be negotiated in the coming days, this line would not move.
China's claim over Taiwan has remained constant for decades, but the stakes feel sharper now. Xi restated what Beijing calls the One-China principle: Taiwan is not a sovereign nation. It is, in China's legal and historical accounting, an inseparable part of Chinese territory—a position that has hardened into doctrine across much of the world's diplomatic machinery. The message was reinforced not only at the summit itself but also thousands of miles away, in Abuja, where Chinese officials and Nigerian academics gathered to explain why this principle matters and why the world should understand it as settled fact.
At a media forum organized by the Centre for China Studies and the Centre for Contemporary China-Africa Research, Dong Hairong, a counsellor at China's embassy in Nigeria, laid out the case with precision. She pointed to recent moves by Taiwan's regional leader, Lai Ching-te, who had visited Eswatini—one of the few African nations still maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taipei. She also cited reported contacts between some Nigerian journalists and Taiwanese officials as examples of what Beijing sees as attempts to legitimize separatism. These are not neutral diplomatic gestures, she argued. They misrepresent the historical and legal reality. Taiwan, she said, has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times. The Chinese government administered it for centuries. After World War II, international agreements stipulated that territories Japan had seized, including Taiwan, should be returned to China. "Taiwan has never been a country, was never one and will never be," Dong stated flatly.
The argument rests on a specific historical claim: that when the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, Beijing became the sole legitimate government representing all of Chinese territory—including Taiwan, which the Communist government has never controlled. This framing has proven persuasive across much of the world. Of the 54 African nations, 53 now recognize the One-China principle. Only Eswatini maintains official relations with Taiwan, a fact that Chinese officials cite as evidence of their position's global acceptance.
At the same Abuja forum, Nigerian voices reinforced the message. Segun Showunmi, convener of The Alternative Movement, argued that Nigeria's strategic interests lay with Beijing, not Taipei. "In another 100 years, what Nigeria will gain from a firm relationship with China, Taiwan will not be able to provide in 1,000 years," he said—a calculation framed not as ideology but as pragmatism. Prof. Ghali Ibrahim, provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, added that Taiwan's lack of legal sovereign status explained why the One-China principle had achieved such broad recognition. He also praised China for what he called its patience and restraint in pursuing peaceful reunification despite the tensions that have persisted across the Taiwan Strait.
What makes this moment distinct is the audience. Trump's presence in Beijing signals that the question of Taiwan is no longer a regional matter but a central concern in great-power relations. Xi's warning about conflict was not abstract. It was a statement about what happens when a U.S. president treats Taiwan as something other than what China insists it is. The diplomatic machinery in Abuja—the forums, the statements, the careful marshaling of legal and historical arguments—serves a parallel purpose: to build the international consensus that makes China's position seem inevitable, settled, beyond dispute. Whether that consensus holds depends partly on what happens in the coming months between Washington and Beijing, and partly on whether smaller nations like Nigeria continue to accept the framing that choosing China means abandoning Taiwan.
Notable Quotes
In another 100 years, what Nigeria will gain from a firm relationship with China, Taiwan will not be able to provide in 1,000 years— Segun Showunmi, convener of The Alternative Movement
Taiwan is not an independent sovereign entity but a territory that is part of China— Prof. Ghali Ibrahim, Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does China feel the need to keep restating this principle? Isn't it already established?
Because restatement is itself a form of power. Every time a major country or institution affirms it, the principle becomes harder to challenge. But more urgently, Trump's unpredictability makes Beijing nervous. They're drawing a line.
And the forum in Nigeria—was that aimed at Trump, or at African countries?
Both. It signals to Trump that the world has already decided. But it also reminds African nations that choosing Taiwan means choosing isolation. Only one country in the entire continent still does.
What about the claim that Taiwan has never been a country? Isn't that historically debatable?
Absolutely. But China isn't making a historical argument—it's making a legal one. They're saying the international system, as it exists now, doesn't recognize Taiwan as sovereign. That's harder to argue with.
So this is about preventing Trump from treating Taiwan as independent?
Exactly. Xi is saying: if you move toward recognizing Taiwan's sovereignty, we move toward conflict. It's a threat dressed as a principle.
And if Trump ignores the warning?
Then we find out whether the warning was real or theater. That's what makes this summit different from all the others.