Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday the tide of history cannot be stopped as he urged peaceful "reunification" with Taiwan without mentioning the use of force, drawing a firm rebuff from Taipei.

China views Taiwan as its own territory, despite Taipei's strong rejection of that claim, and has repeatedly offered a "one country, two systems" model of autonomy not supported by any major Taiwanese political party.

Resolving the Taiwan question is an "unwavering historical mission" of China's Communist Party, Xi said in a speech in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

"The tide of history cannot be stopped," Xi added. "The complete reunification of the motherland must be realized and it will certainly be realized."

Taiwan's government dismissed the remarks.

Its Mainland Affairs Council said neither the government nor Taiwan's people could accept "one country, two systems," which would ultimately mean submitting to the Communist Party's rule.

"As for the wording on Taiwan unification, it is not much different from the past," council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh told reporters.

Xi's comments came in a speech on the 160th birthday of revolutionary hero Sun Yat-sen who led a 1911 revolt that ended centuries of rule by emperors and empresses and ushered in the Republic of China.

Xi said China adheres to "peaceful reunification and the 'one country, two systems' policy" and is willing to talk to Taiwan while upholding the "one-China principle," Beijing's position that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one country.

All Chinese, including those in Taiwan, should jointly oppose Taiwan independence separatist forces and strive for peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, Xi added.

Although Xi did not mention the use of force, which China has never renounced for Taiwan, its military operates around the island daily and is extending its reach into the Pacific.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it detected 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" around Taiwan in conjunction with Chinese warships, beginning Thursday.

Xi's speech comes a week ahead of the APEC summit in China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen, where he is scheduled to meet again with U.S. President Donald Trump, and just over two weeks before important local elections in Taiwan.

'Stay away'

Last month, Taiwan called on its people to steer clear of any of China's events to mark the Sun anniversary, saying China had a distorted view of him and his legacy.

Beijing calls Sun a great national hero and patriot and the forerunner of the 1949 communist revolution that forced the defeated Republic of China government to flee to Taiwan, where it remains to this day.

Xi said Sun was a great national hero, a great patriot and "a great pioneer of China's democratic revolution."

"Sun Yat-sen consistently upheld the unity of the country and the solidarity of the nation and firmly opposed all words and actions that split the country or nation," he added.

In Taiwan, Sun is officially considered the "Father of the Nation" and his portrait hangs in the presidential office, though his political philosophy, "Three Principles of the People," is no longer a required text for schoolchildren.

While Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party champion Taiwan's separate identity from China, they have been striking a tougher tone with Beijing on the role of the Republic of China.

Taiwan has been particularly upset by Beijing's effort to claim credit for the victory in World War II, stating the Republic of China government fought alongside the Allies, as the People's Republic of China did not exist at the time.

China says Lai is a "separatist" and has refused to speak with him. Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.