> If they can build a peaceful relationship with Taiwan without military involvement

Xi fucked this up because he’s a dictator.

Taiwanese polling on national identity was mixed until the 2010s [1]. Left at peace, it would have probably voted for reintegration in our lifetimes. But then Xi decided the post-Mao system of political competition within the CCP was inconvenient, launched his wolf warriors on all of China’s neighbors, annexed Hong Kong prematurely and started warmongering with Taiwan, all of which has lead to an avoidable but now-permanent polarization across the strait.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_on_Taiwanese_i...