Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Nationalist Party President Cheng Liyun in Beijing on Friday, marking the first meeting between Mr. Xi and Taiwan’s incumbent opposition leader in nearly a decade.
In a statement published by Chinese state media, President Xi said Beijing “welcomes all proposals that are conducive to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.” According to a statement translated into Chinese by CNBC.
Xi also reiterated that “Taiwan independence” is the main threat to destabilizing the Taiwan Strait, and called on party leaders on the mainland and Taiwan to oppose “separatism and foreign interference.”
Cheng took over as leader of the main opposition party in October last year amid heightened military and political tensions with the mainland. Her visit to Beijing comes as the Kuomintang seeks to position itself as an influential interlocutor with mainland China ahead of Taiwan’s 2028 presidential election.
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the tone of the Chinese government’s official announcements indicates a meaningful change. “This message reduces the risk of military conflict across the Taiwan Strait and is beneficial to both mainland China and Taiwan,” Zhang said, adding that it shows China prefers a peaceful approach to cross-strait relations.
In his statement, President Xi reiterated that the mainland and Taiwan share a shared ethnic and cultural identity that cannot be separated by political differences, and stressed that the “one China” principle remains a non-negotiable basis for any future engagement.
The Chinese leader called for broader economic, trade and cultural exchanges, vowed to deepen “mutual political trust” and keep communication channels open.
The meeting comes ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned visit in May, where he is expected to meet with Xi to discuss a range of issues including trade, fentanyl flows and Taiwan.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and considers the issue an internal matter, a position it has used to push back against what it calls interference by Washington and its allies, including Japan.
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party accused Chung of misrepresenting public opinion in Taiwan during his visit to China and accusing the Kuomintang of undermining national security.
Cheng described his visit to Beijing as part of a strategy of “deterrence through dialogue,” pledging that if his party returns to power in 2028, it will seek to resume extensive cross-strait exchanges, including tourism and political engagement.
According to local Taiwanese media, Cheng said during his meeting with President Xi, “The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is for the people on both sides of the strait to regenerate together.” He said China and Taipei should work to build a sustainable mechanism for dialogue and cooperation, adding that the two countries should move beyond political rivalry to prevent war.
Mr. Chung’s leadership of the Kuomintang is based in part on an appeal to a common Chinese heritage and a calculation among some in Taiwan’s business community that President Lai Ching-de’s pro-independence stance is provoking unnecessary conflict with Beijing at a time when Washington’s interests are elsewhere, said Michael Ferrer, chief geopolitical strategist.
The Kuomintang derailed Mr. Lai’s proposed $40 billion special defense budget that would have funded a layered air defense system designed to counter a potential Chinese military invasion.
Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and Iran, along with threats against Greenland, have some drawn similarities to Beijing’s stance on Taiwan, but analysts say the risk of a near-term invasion of the mainland remains limited.
“The risk of a sudden mainland invasion of Taiwan is lower than many in Washington generally assume,” said Teneo Managing Director Gabriel Wildeau. “China’s leadership believes that the balance of military power and overall strategic influence is shifting in China’s favor.”
The Iran conflict has introduced new uncertainties, but Wildau said more significant inflection points are further ahead. If the Democratic Progressive Party wins a fourth consecutive term as president in 2028 and Xi secures reappointment at the 2027 party congress, “Xi may conclude that peaceful unification is no longer possible,” he said.
