China dials down Taiwan rhetoric as US and Canada transit strait

The Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver transits the Taiwan Strait with guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (US Navy via AP)

China has toned down its rhetoric on Taiwan, saying it is inevitable that the self-governing island comes under its control, but that it would promote efforts to achieve that peacefully.

The comments followed recent remarks by US president Joe Biden that America would defend Taiwan if China were to invade, and came a day after US and Canadian warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait.