Taiwan’s opposition leader. Cheng Li-wun, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, according to the BBC, marking a rare cross-strait dialogue as both sides emphasized a desire for peace. This meeting took place at China’s Great Hall of the People and was the first time a sitting leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), had visited China in a decade.

Historical Context of Cross-Strait Relations

Cheng’s visit comes amid a decade of strained relations between Taiwan and China. In 2016, Beijing cut off high-level communications with Taiwan after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) elected Tsai Ing-wen as president. Tsai’s administration has refused to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation, a stance that Beijing has criticized.

According to the BBC, China has long claimed Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to reclaim the island. The DPP, which Tsai leads, has consistently rejected the 1992 Consensus, an understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that there is ‘one China,’ while allowing different interpretations of what that means.

Xi Jinping, speaking during the meeting, said, ‘The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future,’ according to the BBC.

Cheng’s Remarks and the 1992 Consensus

Cheng responded by emphasizing that ‘the rejuvenation of the Chinese people is a shared aspiration of the people on both sides of the Strait,’ according to the BBC. She also stated that her meeting with Xi would be ‘a positive contribution to world peace and human progress.’

In a press conference after the closed-door meeting, Cheng said young people of every generation must understand that opposing Taiwan independence and maintaining the 1992 Consensus is a way to ‘avoid war, prevent tragedy, work together and create peace.’

The 1992 Consensus is an understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party about there being ‘one China,’ though it allows for different interpretations. The DPP has consistently rejected the 1992 Consensus, arguing that it undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Cheng’s eagerness to visit China contrasts with her predecessors’ more cautious approach to cross-strait relations, according to some analysts. The KMT has traditionally maintained warm ties with China, though recent leaders have been more cautious.

Beijing’s Stance on Taiwan’s Current Leadership

Beijing has refused to hold formal dialogue with Taiwan’s current president, Lai Ching-te, whom they have labeled a ‘separatist.’ Lai has repeatedly committed to maintaining the status quo in cross-strait relations. However, Chinese authorities and state media have heaped bitter rhetoric against him, calling him a ‘troublemaker’ and ‘warmonger.’

Most people in Taiwan consider themselves a sovereign nation, but many also favor keeping the ‘status quo’ in cross-strait relations, neither unifying with China nor formally declaring independence, according to the BBC.

During her public remarks, Cheng stressed that Chinese and Taiwanese leaders should work to ‘transcend political confrontation and mutual hostility,’ according to an English translation. ‘Through the unremitting efforts of our two parties, we hope the Taiwan Strait will no longer become a potential flashpoint of conflict, nor a chessboard for external powers,’ Cheng said, according to the BBC.

Xi Jinping also emphasized Taiwan and China’s shared history and culture, stating that ‘people of all ethnic groups, including Taiwanese compatriots, had jointly written the glorious history of China,’ according to the BBC.

Both leaders said they oppose ‘foreign meddling’ in Taiwan-China relations, a reference to US interference. According to Wen-ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, Cheng suggested that she would slow Taiwan’s military build-up. She talked about the ‘institutional arrangement for war prevention,’ which was a euphemism for saying that under her leadership, the KMT would not be seeking a defense and deterrence-oriented approach.