Elon Musk appeared to pick a side in the China-Taiwan controversy, stating that the island is “part of China” despite its push for economic and political independence from the country.

The SpaceX CEO spoke at the All-In Summit 2023 on Tuesday about various political topics ranging from criticism of the Anti-Defamation League to foreign relations. The talk was held at Royce Hall on UCLA’s campus in Los Angeles.

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“I think I understand China well,” said Musk, who compared Taiwan to Hawaii in that it is “an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China.”

Musk noted China’s policy to “reunite” with Taiwan and shifted the blame toward the United States, claiming the U.S. has “stopped any sort of reunification effort” in the East China Sea.

He issued a warning to America, comparing the “increasing” military capabilities of China to the “static” capabilities of the U.S., noting that China’s military strength in that region will exceed the U.S. in the “not too distant future” and that “force will be used to incorporate Taiwan and China.”

“Tesla has been very successful domestically in China,” the tech mogul said. “I’ve been there many times, I’ve met with senior leadership at many levels of China for many years.”

Tesla’s market share of the electric vehicle industry in China reached 13.2% in August, up from 7.5% in July.

Former president Donald Trump claimed on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show that there is “zero chance” China will invade Taiwan if he becomes president again. 2024 GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, on the other hand, refused to commit to drawing a “red line” around Taiwan. Instead, he proposed “deter[ing] until we have achieved semiconductor independence.”

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Taiwan currently produces 60% of the world’s semiconductor chips and 90% of the most advanced models. It is also the U.S.’s 10th largest trading partner.

China’s posture toward Taiwan has grown increasingly aggressive as Chinese officials have said that they want the military to be ready to invade Taiwan for unification by 2027.