Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) party, in a landmark visit to Beijing – the first by a major Taiwanese opposition figure in a decade. The meeting occurred ahead of a planned summit with Donald Trump, as Beijing seeks to influence the narrative surrounding Taiwan.
During the meeting, Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and reiterated opposition to Taiwanese independence. He stated that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and that the future of relations should be determined by the Chinese people themselves.
Xi expressed “full confidence” in eventual unification, while Cheng Li-wun emphasized the importance of avoiding war. The meeting is seen as an effort by Beijing to build influence and present itself as a peacemaker, despite a current freeze in relations with Taiwan’s government.