China’s Xi meets Taiwan opposition leader, calls unification “historically inevitable”

China’s President Xi Jinping told visiting Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun that unification with the mainland is a “historical inevitability”, while warning against any moves towards independence in the first such meeting in a decade.

Xi called for broader political co-operation across Taiwan’s parties, stating that closer cross-strait ties would continue despite global changes. Cheng described her visit as a “journey for peace”, emphasising dialogue and mutual respect despite differing political systems.

“The current global landscape is undergoing rapid changes,” said Xi, who was flanked by members of his elite seven-person Politburo Standing Committee.

“But no matter what the international situation is . . . the great tide of cross-strait compatriots drawing closer and coming together will not change. This is a historical inevitability.”

Xi added: “‘Taiwan independence’ is the chief culprit destroying peace in the Taiwan Strait; we absolutely will not tolerate it or allow it.”

In her response, Cheng said they would “jointly launch the rejuvenation project of Chinese civilisation”.

“Although cross-strait peoples live under different systems, we will respect each other and move towards each other,” she said.

During her six-day visit, Cheng also travelled to Shanghai and Nanjing, where at the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, China’s revolutionary hero, she called on both sides of the strait to avoid armed conflict.

In Nanjing, she also emphasised that all parties in Taipei should “uphold the 1992 Consensus and oppose Taiwan independence”. The consensus refers to an agreement between semi-official envoys from Beijing and Taipei in 1992 that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “One China”, without making clear under which government.

The meeting comes amid heightened military activity around Taiwan following the election of President Lai Ching-te, and ahead of an anticipated visit to Beijing by US President Donald Trump.

ℹ️ Financial Times