On this picture launched by Xinhua Information Company, Chinese language President Xi Jinping, proper shakes fingers with Kuomintang (KMT) celebration chief Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026.
Xie Huanchi/Xinhua/AP
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Xie Huanchi/Xinhua/AP
TAIPEI, Taiwan, and SHANGHAI — Chinese language President Xi Jinping held a uncommon assembly with Cheng Li-wun, the chief of Taiwan’s largest opposition celebration, the Kuomintang (KMT), in Beijing on Friday, the place he mentioned China welcomes “peaceful development” throughout the Taiwan Strait, and referred to as individuals from each international locations “one family.”
This was the primary official assembly between the sitting heads of the Chinese language Communist Social gathering and the KMT, which favors nearer ties with Beijing, in nearly a decade.
“We firmly believe that more and more Taiwan compatriots … will recognize that Taiwan’s development prospects hinge on a strong motherland, and that the interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots are closely linked to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi mentioned, in accordance to China’s state-run information company Xinhua.
The assembly comes forward of a summit in Beijing with President Donald Trump deliberate for Might, the place Xi is probably to deliver up his opposition to U.S. arms gross sales to Taiwan – a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its personal territory, and has refused to rule out taking by pressure.
Xi and Cheng shook fingers in entrance of journalists at Beijing’s Nice Corridor of the Folks, the place Chinese language leaders have historically acquired high-profile visitors.
Xi mentioned that he was keen to work with all political events in Taiwan to foster peaceable relations.
However Beijing has thus far refused to interact with Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Social gathering because it considers its leaders to be separatists.
Taiwan is a democracy however, below stress from Beijing, only a few international locations acknowledge it as unbiased.
The KMT does not go so far as advocating for unification, however Cheng agrees with Beijing in opposing Taiwanese independence and mentioned that each side of the Taiwan Strait belong to 1 China.
Although either side interprets “one China” in another way. A survey in April confirmed the KMT has lower than a 3rd of well-liked help.
Beijing has escalated army drills round Taiwan lately.
Cheng has referred to as her journey a peace mission to indicate that dialogue is feasible with Beijing to ease tensions.
She praised China’s steps in direction of eradicating poverty and mentioned though individuals on each side of the Taiwan Strait “live under different systems,” they need to respect one another and transcend political confrontation, and that the area should not change into “a chessboard for external interference.”
“For some KMT figures, it’s important to talk to your friends, but it’s even more important to talk to your enemies,” George Yin, a senior analysis fellow on the Middle for China Research at Nationwide Taiwan College, instructed NPR.
Yin mentioned Cheng’s technique is to leverage rising anxiousness about working with Trump’s Washington to advocate for “more of a hedging, middling strategy for Taiwan.” However it stays to be seen whether or not she could use political capital from the journey to push lawmakers to additional delay or scale back the federal government’s proposed particular protection spending, he provides.
Taiwan’s president Lai has requested $40 billion for an eight-year funding in superior weapon techniques, together with arms from america to discourage a possible invasion from China. The KMT, which holds a legislative majority alongside their smaller coalition companion, has delayed the invoice and proposed a a lot smaller quantity.
Since Cheng was elected chair of the KMT, she has spent months publicly searching for a gathering with Xi, making the case that Taiwan “doesn’t have to choose” between China and the U.S.
From Beijing’s perspective, analyst Yin thinks Xi needs to make use of Cheng to tug the KMT rhetoric additional towards Beijing’s most well-liked framing.
“When Cheng says ‘Taiwan doesn’t have to choose between China and the U.S.,’ that’s a significant departure from the traditional KMT line,” he says. “Although the meeting between Cheng and Xi might not lead to concrete policy changes, it could lead to concrete political changes, cornering the KMT into a position that it wouldn’t have been comfortable inhabiting in the past.”
Taiwan’s ruling celebration doubts the assembly will genuinely enhance cross-strait ties.
In a assertion on Fb, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te urged the KMT to again his protection spending plans, and mentioned “history tells us that compromising with authoritarian powers only sacrifices sovereignty and democracy. It does not bring freedom, and it brings no peace.”
Ashish Valentine reported from Taipei and Jennifer Pak from Shanghai.
