Taiwan Opposition Leader Cheng Li-wun Meets Xi Jinping in Rare Beijing Visit

Fri Apr 10 2026 13:50:46 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

In a significant diplomatic move, Taiwan's opposition leader Cheng Li-wun met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, emphasizing peace between the two nations amid heightened tensions.

Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan's Kuomintang party, met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, marking a rare high-level dialogue since 2016. Both leaders expressed a desire for peaceful cross-strait relations, despite ongoing tensions and criticism from Taiwan's ruling party.

China's President Xi Jinping received Taiwan's main opposition party leader on Friday, in a rare meeting which saw both sides stress a desire for cross-strait peace.

Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's (KMT) first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.

In 2016, Beijing cut off high-level communications with Taiwan after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen became president, citing her refusal to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation. The DPP has criticized Cheng's trip, accusing her of being subservient to Beijing.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking the self-governed island by force.

The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future, said Xi at the Great Hall of the People.

He added that China was willing to strengthen exchange and dialogue together with various parties, including the KMT - though it would have to be on the condition of opposing Taiwan independence.

Xi reiterated that those on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and that they all want peace.

Cheng responded that the rejuvenation of the Chinese people is a shared aspiration of the people on both sides of the Strait, describing it as a positive contribution to world peace and human progress.

In a press conference after her meeting with Xi, Cheng emphasized the importance of opposing Taiwan independence and maintaining the 1992 Consensus as a way to prevent conflict.

The 1992 Consensus is an understanding about there being one China, while allowing different interpretations, which the DPP has consistently rejected as undermining Taiwan's sovereignty.

Cheng's eagerness to engage with China contrasts with her predecessors' cautious approach towards cross-strait relations, amid ongoing tensions as the DPP maintains its stance against unification.

Most people in Taiwan consider themselves a sovereign nation, favoring retaining the status quo in relations with China.