Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the peaceful reunification of Taiwan with China, reaffirming his commitment to implementing a ‘one country, two systems’ policy.

Mr Xi made the remarks at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Thursday during an event marking the 160th birthday of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen.

He called on Chinese citizens and people across the Taiwan Strait to unite against separatist movements.

“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and all Chinese people at home and abroad must join hands to oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and work together for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and complete reunification of the motherland,” Mr Xi said.

Mr Xi described China’s reunification as inevitable, insisting that historical developments would not prevent the country from achieving its goal.

“The tide of history cannot be stopped. The complete reunification of the motherland must be realised and it will be realised,” he added.

However, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council rejected the remarks, saying the island’s people would not accept the ‘one country, two systems’ policy, which it said would place them under the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rule.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, conducting a joint combat readiness patrol around the island alongside Chinese warships on Thursday.