The handshake lasted 14 seconds. Taiwan’s media noticed, and most outlets there made it the detail of the day when Xi Jinping received Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang, in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026.
Cheng is the first KMT chairperson to lead a delegation to the mainland in a decade. Her group had been to Jiangsu Province and Shanghai before it reached the capital, at the invitation of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and Xi. Xinhua reported that Xi called the meeting between the two parties’ leaders after 10 years of great significance.
Xi’s message
According to Xinhua, Xi spoke of working with all of Taiwan’s political parties, the KMT included, on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and opposition to “Taiwan independence”. He made four points. Differences in social systems, he said, “should not be an excuse for secession”. The core of safeguarding the shared homeland is recognizing that both sides of the Strait belong to one China. Of independence he said: “We should neither condone nor tolerate it.” He also welcomed Taiwanese visitors, encouraged young people from the island to seek opportunity on the mainland, and said Taiwan’s farm and fishery goods were welcome in its market.
Cheng said people on both sides of the Strait are Chinese and belong to one family. She called on the KMT and the Communist Party to hold to the 1992 Consensus and to expand exchanges. At a press briefing afterward she described the talks as sincere, candid and heartfelt, and urged Taiwan’s parties not to use cross-Strait peace as a tool for winning votes, calling it a choice between peace and war. “We are paving the way and have taken the first step,” she told reporters.
Reaction on both sides
Commentators quoted by the Global Times gave the meeting a warm reading. Zheng Jian, a professor at Xiamen University, said it would help steer cross-Strait relations toward stability. Herman Shuai, a retired Taiwanese lieutenant general, called it a major positive step for peace. The BBC described the meeting as a rare one.
Taiwan’s president struck a different note that day. Lai Ching-te said the island must strengthen its own capabilities, according to udn.com. Earlier in the week he met a US delegation led by Representative Zach Nunn and promised to build up defenses. His $40 billion, eight-year special defense budget, announced in November 2025, has been blocked several times by opposition legislators.
Beijing has refused to talk with the Democratic Progressive Party, which backs Taiwan’s independence and rejects the 1992 Consensus. It has not ruled out using force, and has held large military drills around the island in recent years. Cheng’s visit came several weeks before a planned trip to China by US President Donald Trump, when Taiwan may be a main topic.
Sources
- Xi meets KMT leader, urges joint efforts to promote cross-Straits peace, oppose âTaiwan independenceâ secession
- Xi Jinping Warns Against Taiwan Independence in Rare Meeting with KMT Leader | Межа
