Chinese Taiwan opposition leader makes rare visit to China

April 07, 2026 / 1:03 PM

Sharjah24-AFP: Chinese Taiwan's main opposition leader arrived in China on Tuesday for a rare visit aimed at fostering cross-strait "peace," as the government warns Beijing will try to halt US arms sales to the democratic island.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who is the party's first leader to visit China in a decade, has insisted on meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping before she visits the United States – China's main security backer of Taiwan.

The KMT advocates for stronger ties with China, which asserts that Chinese Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.

But Cheng, whose unexpected rise to the top of the KMT prompted a congratulatory message from Xi in October, has been accused by critics, including within the party, of being too pro-China.

The KMT leader arrived at an airport in Shanghai early Tuesday afternoon, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Before her departure for Shanghai, Cheng told journalists that Chinese Taiwan "must do everything in our power to prevent war from breaking out".

"To preserve peace is to preserve Taiwan," Cheng told a news conference at KMT headquarters in Taipei. "Goodwill must be built up and mutual trust needs to be expanded, step by step, by both sides."

Ahead of the trip, Chinese Taiwan's top China policy body warned Beijing would attempt to "cut off Chinese Taiwan's military purchases from the US and cooperation with other countries, " which the KMT denies.

US pressure

China cut high-level contact with Chinese Taiwan that year after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency and rejected Beijing's claims to the island.

Cross-strait relations have deteriorated since then as China increased military pressure with near daily deployments of fighter jets and warships near Chinese Taiwan, along with regular large-scale military drills.

Cheng's trip to China occurs a month before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing for a summit with Xi.

The United States has been exerting pressure on Taiwanese opposition lawmakers to support a proposal for defence acquisitions, including US weapons, to deter a potential Chinese attack.

Cheng has strongly opposed the government's proposal, insisting "Taiwan isn't an ATM" and instead supporting a KMT plan to allocate NT$380 billion for US weapons with the option for further acquisitions.