Why did Charles de gaulle say this: China is a big country inhabited by many Chinese?

Question

Is this somekind of joke by him, or he is stupid or what

Answer 1

are you kidding? i was like what the helll? im sure he IS stupid hahaha

Answer 2

because it is true

Answer 3

He ment simply that China is very homogenous, meaning that their people are the same ethnically. Except for of course Western China which is home to a very large population of pissed off Muslims.  

Answer 4

De Gaulle had a way of saying bizarre things lol. He's kind of like the Yogi Berra of politicians. Another quote was, "How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?"