Xi Meets KMT Leader Cheng Ahead of Trump Taiwan Summit
Why it matters: Xi’s Beijing meeting could sway Taiwan’s stance before Trump’s May summit, affecting U.S. arms‑sale negotiations with Taiwan.
- Xi Jinping said China welcomes peaceful development and called people on both sides “one family,” according to Xinhua.
- Cheng Li‑wun framed the visit as a peace mission, echoing Beijing’s one‑China stance but stopping short of unification, and urged mutual respect despite different systems.
- Donald Trump is slated to meet Xi in May, where opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is expected to be a key agenda item.
- George Yin, senior research fellow at National Taiwan University, noted the KMT’s hedging strategy against U.S. pressure, while a poll shows the party has under a third of popular support.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kuomintang chair Cheng Li‑wun in Beijing, the first such encounter in a decade, to promote “peaceful development” across the Taiwan Strait. The dialogue, timed before Donald Trump’s May summit in China, underscores Beijing’s push for a one‑China narrative while Taiwan’s ruling DPP remains excluded, and highlights the KMT’s low domestic support amid rising military pressure.
