Xi Meets Taiwan Opposition Leader in Rare Beijing Talks
Xi and KMT chair Cheng Li-wun met in Beijing, stressing peaceful ties ahead of a planned U.S.-China summit in May amid stalled Taiwanese defense spending.
FOX NewsTaiwan opposition leader meets Xi in Beijing as Taiwan defense fight intensifies
CNBCChina's Xi invokes 'threat' of Taiwan independence in first cross-strait opposition talks in a decade
NBC NewsChina's Xi talks peace with Taiwan's opposition leader even as Beijing raises military pressure
ABC NewsTaiwan's opposition leader meets China's Xi Jinping as both sides call for peace
Overview
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan's Kuomintang, in Beijing on Friday in the first encounter between a Chinese leader and a sitting Taiwanese opposition head in nearly a decade.
The meeting comes ahead of a planned summit in Beijing with U.S. President Donald Trump in May, where Taiwan is expected to be discussed.
Chinese state media readouts said Xi welcomed proposals for peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait and called 'Taiwan independence' the primary threat undermining cross-strait stability.
The KMT has stalled a proposed $40 billion special defense budget that President Lai requested for advanced weaponry, a delay that officials say could jeopardize a $14 billion U.S. arms package.
Cheng said she would push for a framework for peace and seek to resume broad cross-strait exchanges, including tourism and political engagement, if the KMT returns to power in 2028.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources present a largely neutral account, balancing Beijing and Taipei perspectives while attributing evaluative language to quoted actors. They cite Xi and Cheng’s statements, Lai’s Facebook warning, an independent analyst’s assessment, and factual context (KMT popularity survey, increased military drills), avoiding editorialized language or omission of major viewpoints.