Taiwan KMT Leader to Visit China Before Trump-Xi Summit
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- Cheng Li-wun accepted Xi Jinping's invitation to visit China from April 7 to 12, the first trip to China by a sitting Taiwanese opposition leader in a decade, touring Shanghai, Jiangsu and Beijing.
- The visit is timed weeks before Trump's rescheduled trip to Beijing in mid-May, giving Beijing a platform to make its case on Taiwan to the U.S. president.
- KMT and the Taiwan People's Party have blocked a $40 billion special defense budget tabled by Taiwan's government since November 2025, proposing a $12 billion alternative citing lack of transparency — a standoff the U.S. wants resolved.
- Cheng's message that "conflict is not inevitable" echoes Beijing's narrative that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are "family," aligning with Xi's February objections to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan expressed on a call with Trump.
- Beijing is using the visit to undermine President Lai Ching-te's authority and highlight Taiwan's internal divisions; China has refused to engage with the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party since 2016.
- Cheng is reportedly planning a U.S. visit after her China trip to reassure Washington, though her outreach has already caused unease within KMT ranks over alignment with the U.S. on defense.
- Cheng's posture reflects rising Taiwanese concern that U.S. commitment to defending the island may be waning, a perception the article links to Trump's mixed signals on Taiwan and Washington's military focus on the Middle East.
Why it matters: The $40 billion defense budget is stuck because the opposition won't pass it, and Washington is openly frustrated — now Beijing is rolling out the red carpet for the very legislator blocking it, giving Xi ammunition against U.S. arms sales while sharpening Taiwan's partisan fault line ahead of 2028 presidential elections.
