Xi Jinping Tells Taiwan Opposition Leader Chinese and Taiwanese Will Unite

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Cheng Li-wun, the chairwoman of Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026. During the meeting, President Xi expressed full confidence that the people of China and Taiwan would eventually be united.

The meeting represents the first high-level contact between the two sides in a decade. China had previously severed high-level communications with Taiwan in 2016 following the election of Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, who rejected Beijing’s claims that the self-ruled island is part of Chinese territory.

President Xi told the visiting delegation that the historical trend of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait becoming closer and uniting will not change. He described this process as an inevitable part of history.

KMT Position and Peace Initiatives

Cheng Li-wun, the first KMT leader to visit China in ten years, stated her hope that the Taiwan Strait would no longer be a focal point of potential conflict. She urged both sides to move beyond political confrontation and seek a systemic solution to prevent war.

Cheng further proposed that the Taiwan Strait should serve as a model for peaceful conflict resolution in the world and become a symbol of peace jointly safeguarded by Chinese people on both sides of the strait.

The KMT chairwoman arrived in China on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. Before meeting with President Xi in Beijing, she visited several cities, including Nanjing, where she visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Nanjing served as the capital of China when it was ruled by the KMT before the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949.

Domestic Reaction in Taiwan

The visit has generated significant controversy within Taiwan. Critics have accused Cheng Li-wun of being too pro-Beijing or too close to China, a country that many in Taiwan perceive as a threat.

Cheng has previously described the act of identifying as Chinese as a very natural thing. This position contrasts with current mainstream opinion in Taiwan, where polling indicates that two-thirds of the population identify themselves as primarily Taiwanese.

Regional Context and Tensions

The meeting occurs against a backdrop of sustained military pressure from Beijing around the self-ruled island. China has sworn to take Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal.

The diplomatic engagement comes as the KMT attempts to navigate the complex relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, while facing internal criticism regarding the party’s proximity to the Chinese government.