Xi Meets KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun in Beijing, First CCP-KMT Leaders' Meeting in Nearly a Decade
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping hosted Chinese Nationalist Party chair Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on April 10, calling Taiwan independence 'the chief culprit destroying peace' while welcoming cross-strait exchanges. It is the first meeting between sitting leaders of the two parties in nearly ten years.
Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping met Kuomintang (KMT) chair Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on the morning of April 10, 2026, Xinhua reported. Politburo Standing Committee members Wang Huning and Cai Qi attended. It is the first meeting between sitting CCP and KMT leaders since Xi met then-KMT chair Hung Hsiu-chu in November 2016.
What Xi said
According to the full Xinhua readout carried by mainland state media, Xi framed the meeting as historically significant and tied cross-strait engagement to the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence.
- On the 10-year gap: the meeting between party leaders holds "important meaning for both parties and cross-strait relations."
- On shared heritage: "both sides belong to the Chinese nation and created a unified, multi-ethnic state together."
- On the framework for dialogue: "we will proceed on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence."
- On separatism: "Separatism is the chief culprit destroying peace; we will never tolerate it."
- On reunification: "Increasingly more Taiwan people will recognize the mainland's path and realize Taiwan's future depends on national strength and ethnic revival."
What Cheng said
Cheng, who became KMT chair in November 2025, emphasized shared identity and continuing the party's position on the 1992 Consensus. She described compatriots on both sides as "Chinese people, one family" sharing Chinese culture, and called for "advancing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's vision of revitalizing China." She advocated maintaining the 1992 Consensus, strengthening political trust, and promoting cross-strait peace development across multiple sectors.
The KMT said ahead of the visit that the mission "accords with the international community's longstanding expectations" and that the trip aimed to demonstrate that "cross-strait relations can be anchored in peace and stability through dialogue and exchange." The party noted that the invitation was issued in the names of the CCP Central Committee and Xi personally, matching the protocol used when then-chair Lien Chan met Hu Jintao in 2005.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2025 | Cheng Li-wun elected KMT chair, second woman to hold the post |
| Mar 30, 2026 | CCP Central Committee and Xi publicly invite Cheng to lead a delegation to the mainland |
| Apr 7, 2026 | Cheng arrives in Shanghai on Shanghai Airlines FM852; greeted by Taiwan Affairs Office director Song Tao |
| Apr 8, 2026 | Delegation pays respects at Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Xi-Cheng meeting in Beijing |
Political context
The KMT is Taiwan's largest opposition party; the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Lai Ching-te, rejects the 1992 Consensus and the framing of Taiwan as part of "one China." Beijing has refused contact with the DPP and routed cross-strait engagement through KMT channels and non-governmental exchanges. A sitting CCP General Secretary has never met a sitting Taiwanese president; the last meeting between a CCP and KMT chair with real political weight was the 2005 Hu-Lien summit, after which such meetings became episodic and stopped altogether following Hung's 2016 visit.