Taiwan opposition chief begins rare China visit

April 7, 2026

Summary

Kuomintang leader Cheng Li-wun began a six-day China trip, saying it was meant to support cross-strait peace.

Why this matters

The visit is a rare high-level exchange across the Taiwan Strait at a time of military tension and debate in Taiwan over defense spending. It also comes ahead of a planned Trump-Xi summit and amid scrutiny of future U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun arrived in China on Tuesday for a six-day trip she said was aimed at promoting cross-strait peace, as Taiwan’s government warned Beijing could use the visit to press against U.S. arms sales to the island.

Cheng is the first leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party to visit China in a decade. She is scheduled to visit Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing, where she hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping before traveling to the United States, Taiwan’s main security backer.

Before departing Taipei, Cheng told reporters Taiwan “must do everything in our power to prevent war from breaking out.”

“To preserve peace is to preserve Taiwan,” she said at a news conference at Kuomintang headquarters. “Goodwill must be built up and mutual trust needs to be expanded, step by step, by both sides.”

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it could use force to take control of the island. The Kuomintang supports closer ties with Beijing, and Cheng has faced criticism, including from some within her party, that she is too close to China.

China’s Xinhua News Agency said Cheng landed in Shanghai early Tuesday afternoon. Taiwanese media footage showed her receiving flowers after getting off a Shanghai Airlines plane, then leaving in a convoy.

Ahead of the trip, Taiwan’s top China policy body said Beijing would try to “cut off Taiwan’s military purchases from the US and cooperation with other countries,” an allegation the Kuomintang denied. Cheng said last week, “This trip is entirely for cross-strait peace and stability, so it has nothing to do with arms procurement or other issues.”

The visit came as Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature remained deadlocked over the government’s proposal to spend NT$1.25 trillion ($39 billion) on defense. Cheng opposed that plan and backed a Kuomintang proposal to allocate NT$380 billion for U.S. weapons, with the option for more purchases.

China cut off high-level contact with Taiwan in 2016 after then-President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party rejected Beijing’s claims over the island. Since then, China has increased military activity near Taiwan, including frequent deployments of fighter jets and warships, and regular large-scale drills.

Cheng’s trip came a month before President Donald Trump was scheduled to visit Beijing for a summit with Xi.

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