Kuomintang（KMT）Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun(鄭麗文) met Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday morning in the first KMT–CCP leadership summit in ten years — a carefully staged encounter that laid bare the gap between Taipei and Beijing even as both sides spoke of peace.
In his opening remarks, Xi framed the meeting as an effort to "safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland" and "advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations." Notably absent from his remarks was any explicit mention of "cross-strait unification" — a phrase Beijing typically deploys in such settings. Cheng, for her part, acknowledged plainly that the two sides live under different political systems, and proposed building what she called a "cross-strait community of mutual benefit and shared destiny," along with institutional arrangements to prevent war.
Setting & protocol — Diplomatic signals written in marble
The choice of venue carried weight of its own. Beijing placed the talks in the Great Hall's East Hall — an "outer hall" used for the Chinese head of state's meetings with foreign leaders and major diplomatic events — rather than the Fujian Hall or Taiwan Hall, which are "inner halls" typically used for party-to-party exchanges. The protocol decision effectively treated the KMT delegation as distinguished foreign guests, a conspicuously elevated form of courtesy.
The two principals greeted each other with a handshake lasting fourteen seconds before taking their seats at the conference table for opening statements, after which the session moved behind closed doors.
Setting & protocol — Diplomatic signals written in marble
The choice of venue carried weight of its own. Beijing placed the talks in the Great Hall's East Hall — an "outer hall" used for the Chinese head of state's meetings with foreign leaders and major diplomatic events — rather than the Fujian Hall or Taiwan Hall, which are "inner halls" typically used for party-to-party exchanges. The protocol decision effectively treated the KMT delegation as distinguished foreign guests, a conspicuously elevated form of courtesy.
The two principals greeted each other with a handshake lasting fourteen seconds before taking their seats at the conference table for opening statements, after which the session moved behind closed doors.
Xi Jinping's remarks — "Three unchangeables" and the 1992 Consensus
Xi opened by invoking shared Chinese civilizational heritage, arguing that people on both sides of the strait — including Taiwanese — had together opened up the vast territories, built a unified multi-ethnic state, written a glorious history, and nurtured a great national spirit. "The homeland cannot be divided, the state cannot fall into chaos, the nation cannot be scattered, and civilization cannot be severed," he said, characterizing these as common convictions forged across millennia.
Xi also acknowledged the suffering of Taiwan's "occupied period" under Japanese colonial rule, insisting that Taiwanese people had never abandoned their Chinese cultural and ethnic identity, and had proved their belonging to the Chinese national family "with blood and life."
Turning to the present, Xi invoked what he called three immovable currents: the direction of human progress, the "great trend" of national rejuvenation, and the tide of cross-strait people drawing closer together. "This is historical inevitability," he said. "We are full of confidence."
"Today the world is not at peace, and peace is precious. People on both sides of the strait are all Chinese — one family. They want peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation. This is our shared aspiration."
— Xi Jinping, opening remarks, April 10, 2026
Xi said the meeting's purpose was to "safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and let future generations share a beautiful future together." He reiterated Beijing's insistence on the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence as the political foundation for engagement with KMT and other Taiwan parties, groups, and civic actors.
Cheng opened by noting the weight of the moment: ten years since the last KMT–CCP leadership summit, and a world beset by instability — the most widespread armed conflict since the Second World War, she observed. "But it may also be an era in which all parties, having learned painful lessons, resolve to rebuild peace."
Acknowledging more than a century of turbulent KMT–CCP history, Cheng argued that both parties had always shared the goal of bringing the Chinese nation from decline to revival. She traced a line from KMT Chairman Lien Chan's landmark 2005 "Journey of Peace" through the subsequent decade of cross-strait engagement, framing that record as the proper starting point for a renewed effort.
In a passage that stood out for its directness, Cheng said plainly: "People on both sides of the strait live under different political systems — but we will respect each other and move toward each other."
"Both sides should transcend political confrontation and jointly deliberate on building a cross-strait community of mutual benefit and shared destiny — seeking an institutional solution that prevents and avoids war, making the Taiwan Strait a model for world peace and conflict resolution."
— KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, opening remarks, April 10, 2026
Cheng proposed that cooperation extend to clean energy, disease prevention, and AI ethics and applications, framing these as domains where both sides could "use technology to serve human welfare." She expressed hope that the Taiwan Strait would no longer be "a focal point of potential conflict or a chessboard for outside powers to intervene," but rather "a strait connecting kinship, civilization, and hope."
Institutional framework — Cheng calls for irreversible peace mechanisms
Cheng's most concrete proposal concerned the institutionalization of cross-strait peace. Framing the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence as a shared political baseline — echoing, if in different register, Xi's own language — she called for the two sides to "plan and build dialogue and cooperation mechanisms with institutional and sustainable character," making peaceful development "irreversible" and "fundamentally eliminating all incentives for conflict."
She also proposed joint research into institutions and initiatives that reduce disputes and create peace, with successful outcomes to be "transformed into models that can serve as references for conflict zones worldwide."
The meeting — held just days before a scheduled Xi–Trump summit — has drawn intense international attention. Analysts have noted Beijing's decision to hold the KMT–CCP summit first as a signal of its own, suggesting Xi wanted to shape the cross-strait narrative before facing the American president.
