Xi Jinping Confident that China and Taiwan Will Unite
President Xi Jinping of China met with Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan’s opposition party, who visited Beijing on Friday (10/4). During the meeting, Xi stated that he has “full confidence” that the people of Taiwan and China will unite.
Cheng, who serves as chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, as reported by AFP on Friday (10/4/2026), is the first Taiwanese party leader to visit China in the past decade. However, his visit has sparked debate in Taiwan, with critics accusing him of being too pro-Beijing.
China severed high-level contacts with Taiwan in 2016, following the election of Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party to the presidency, who rejected Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is part of China’s sovereign territory.
In the meeting on Friday (10/4) local time, Xi told Cheng that “the general trend of the citizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait growing closer, integrating, and uniting will not change”.
“This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this,” Xi said during talks with Cheng, which were broadcast by Taiwanese media.
Cheng told Xi that he hopes the Taiwan Strait “will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict”.
“Both sides must transcend political confrontation… and seek systemic solutions to prevent and avoid war, so that the Taiwan Strait can become a model for peaceful conflict resolution in the world,” he stated.
China has vowed to seize Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force, increasing military pressure around the self-governing democratic island in recent years.
Beijing deploys fighter jets and warships near Taipei almost daily, and conducts large-scale military exercises regularly.
Cross-strait relations have deteriorated further since the election of Lai Ching-te, Tsai’s successor, whom China views as a separatist.
In a statement via Facebook on Friday (10/4), Lai said that “China’s military threats within and around the Taiwan Strait and its islands have severely damaged regional peace and stability”.
Cheng landed in Shanghai on Tuesday (7/4) evening, and shortly after his arrival, he stated that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait are not destined to go to war, as the international community fears”.