'China has never taken one inch of land': Xi tells Biden, claims Beijing is 'peace loving'

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday asserted that Beijing never started a war nor claimed an inch of land from others amid growing criticism that it is getting increasingly aggressive over its territorial claims. Xi Jinping made these remarks at the highly anticipated virtual summit with United States President Joe Biden. Xi also attempted to project China as a "peace loving nation", claiming that aggression or hegemony is not in the "blood of the Chinese nation".

"Since the founding of the People's Republic, China has never started a single war or conflict, and has never taken one inch of land from other countries," he claimed, in an apparent attempt to play down criticism that Beijing is aggressively asserting territorial claims in the disputed areas, be that along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, the South China Sea or the maritime dispute with Japan.

China's territorial disputes 

Even as Xi Jinping claims that China is not aggressive, it has an ongoing dispute in several places with many countries in the fray. In the disputed South China Sea that is claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan, China has stepped up its aggressive actions and built artificial islands to assert its claims. Additionally, it is also involved in a maritime dispute with Japan over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea which Beijing refers to as Diaoyu islands.

In another major claim, China has also asserted that Taiwan is its breakaway province despite the fact that the island nation has been democratically ruled for more than seven decades. China has been increasing its aggression against Taiwan as Xi Jinping has vowed to take over the island nation. 

Moreover, China has territorial disputes with India for decades. It has already taken over Aksai Chin and claimed Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. In addition, it also has an ongoing dispute in India's Ladakh which has led to the amassing of troops on both sides of the LAC.

(With PTI inputs)