China launches missiles into the sea, according to US 0:32
Hong Kong (CNN) -
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the country's soldiers to "put all (their) mind and energy into preparing for war."
He said this on a visit to a military base in southern Guangdong province on Tuesday, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
During an inspection of the People's Liberation Army Marine Corps in Chaozhou city, Xi told the soldiers, according to Xinhua, to "maintain a state of high alert."
And he asked them to be "absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely trustworthy."
The main purpose of Xi's visit to Guangdong was to deliver a speech on Wednesday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.
This was established in 1980 to attract foreign capital.
It played a vital role in helping China's economy become the second largest in the world.
Tensions on the rise between China and the US
But the military visit comes as tensions between China and the United States remain at their highest in decades.
There are disagreements over Taiwan and the coronavirus pandemic that create strong divisions between Washington and Beijing.
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The White House notified the US Congress on Monday that it planned to go ahead with the sale of three advanced weapons systems to Taiwan.
This, according to a congressional aide, including the Advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
In a stern response from Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on Washington to "immediately cancel any plans to sell arms to Taiwan" and cut all "military ties between the United States and Taiwan."
Although Taiwan has never been controlled by the ruling Communist Party of China, the Beijing authorities insist that the democratic and autonomous island is an integral part of their territory.
And Xi himself refuses to rule out military force to capture her if necessary.
The matter with Taiwan
Despite the Chinese government's disapproval, relations between Washington and Taipei have tightened under the Trump administration.
In August, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar became the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in decades.
At that time, Azar traveled to the island apparently to discuss the pandemic.
In response, Beijing increased military exercises around Taiwan.
Nearly 40 Chinese fighter jets crossed the median line between the mainland and Taiwan from September 18 to 19.
It was one of several exits that the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen, called a "threat of force."
In a speech to the RAND Corporation on September 16, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said China "cannot match the United States" in terms of naval power.
In addition, he called Beijing an "evil influence."
"(China and Russia) are using predatory economics, political subversion and military force in an attempt to shift the balance of power in their favor, and often at the expense of others," he told the audience.
In early October, Esper announced its "Battle Force 2045" plan, which calls for an expanded and modernized US Navy of 500 manned and unmanned vessels by 2045.
Xi Jinping
