Taiwan's opposition leader met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, the first such encounter in over a decade, raising questions about Taiwan's defense posture as the island faces ongoing military pressure from Beijing. Cheng Li-wun, head of the Beijing-friendly Kuomingtang Party, and Xi both affirmed the need to maintain peace around Taiwan and reiterated their desire to move toward peaceful reunification of Taiwan and the mainland, though it remains unclear how they would achieve it.
The meeting comes as China has stepped up its military exercises around Taiwan, sending warships and fighter jets closer toward the island and steadily poaching Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies. China has not ruled out the use of force against Taiwan.
The Meeting and Its Messaging
Xi welcomed Cheng and her party's representatives in the Great Hall of the People, where he usually meets world leaders, to a round of applause from both sides. Xi said, "The larger trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait walking nearer, closer, and together will not change. This is a historical necessity. We have full confidence in this." Cheng said, "Although people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait live under different systems, we will respect each other and move towards each other," adding, "We will seek systemic solutions to prevent and avoid war."
Cheng arrived in Beijing on Tuesday after visiting Shanghai and Nanjing. She has previously described herself as a promoter of peace between Taiwan and China. She has opposed large increases in Taiwan's defense spending, and her party continues to block President Lai Ching-te's special defense budget for arms purchases, including building an air defense system with interception capabilities called the Taiwan Dome.
Historical Context and Current Tensions
Taiwan has been governed separately from China since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Kuomingtang forces fled to Taiwan, where they set up their own government.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te did not directly address Cheng's China visit, but issued a statement Friday morning urging the KMT to approve his special defense budget. He said that "history tells us that compromising with authoritarian regimes only comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy, and will not bring freedom or peace."
Cheng had said she would push for a "framework for peace" between China and Taiwan, but did not offer any specifics when asked by reporters in Beijing after her meeting with Xi. She said she raised the issue of increasing Taiwan's international profile, such as participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement, and that Xi responded "positively." Cheng said both parties will work to make sure "the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a flash point with the possibility of conflict, and will not become a chess piece played by the outside world."
Domestic Criticism and Strategic Implications
Weihao Huang, a professor of political science at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, said, "Her speech is not like that of a Taiwanese politician," adding that she didn't mention the public. "You can't see the public's mindset from her words. It's either her words are being restricted by China or that she was willing for China to restrict it."
Both Xi and Cheng said they would uphold the 1992 Consensus and opposed Taiwan's independence. The 1992 Consensus is a tacit agreement, never formally enshrined as a document, that Taiwan and China all belong to one China. However, while the KMT said the 1992 Consensus means they belong to "One China" with separate interpretations of what China means, the Communist Party has never acknowledged that.
Ma Chun-wei, an expert in China-Taiwan relations at Taiwan's Tamkang University, said, "This visit is more significant to Xi than to Cheng," and said that at the local level, the KMT's grassroots members didn't really want Cheng to visit China at this time ahead of local elections later this year. Ma said that for Xi, the visit is a chance to have a grip on China-Taiwan relations with Cheng, as there's been no official contact between the governments since the Democratic Progressive Party came into power. Ma added that Xi can tell the U.S. not to interfere as "he has a channel and the ability to deal with the Taiwan issue."
Why This Matters:
The meeting highlights the ongoing debate within Taiwan over how to balance engagement with Beijing against the need for credible defense capabilities. With China continuing military pressure and refusing to rule out force, Taiwan's opposition party blocking defense spending raises questions about the island's ability to deter aggression. The lack of specifics on any "framework for peace" and Beijing's refusal to acknowledge differing interpretations of the 1992 Consensus suggests dialogue may serve Beijing's strategic interests more than Taiwan's security needs. As one expert noted, Xi gains leverage to tell external powers he has channels to manage the Taiwan issue, potentially undermining international support for Taiwan's defense. The dispute over defense budgets and the timing of this visit ahead of local elections reflect how cross-strait engagement intersects with Taiwan's domestic politics and fiscal priorities at a moment when military deterrence may be most needed.