BEIJING — China’s President Xi Jinping received Taiwan’s main opposition party leader in Beijing on Friday, in a rare meeting which saw both sides stress a desire for cross-strait peace.Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, but her trip has sparked debate in Taiwan with critics accusing her of being too pro-Beijing.China severed high-level contact with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency and rejected Beijing’s claims that the self-ruled island is part of its territory.Xi told Cheng as the two met on Friday that China will “absolutely not tolerate” independence for Taiwan, while calling for efforts to advance “reunification”.”The KMT and Communist Party must consolidate political mutual trust, maintain positive interaction, unite compatriots on both sides of the strait, and join hands to create a bright future of the motherland’s reunification and national rejuvenation,” he said.Meeting in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said today’s world is not entirely at peace, and peace is precious.”Compatriots on both sides of the strait are all Chinese — people of one family who want peace, development, exchange, and cooperation,” he said, in comments carried by Taiwan television stations.Both sides of the strait belong to “one China”, Xi added, according to a separate state media read out.”When the family is harmonious, all things will prosper,” he said. “Taiwan independence is the chief culprit in undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait — we will absolutely not tolerate or condone it.”China refuses to talk to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. Lai’s administration has called on Cheng to tell China to stop its threats, and says Beijing should engage with the democratically elected government in Taipei.“This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this,” Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media.Cheng told Xi she hoped the Taiwan Strait would “no longer be a focal point of potential conflict.”“Both sides should transcend political confrontation…and seek a systemic solution to prevent and avoid war, so that the Taiwan Strait can become a model for peaceful conflict resolution in the world,” she said.Beijing has sworn to take Taiwan and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure around the self-ruled island in recent years.China conducts near daily deployments of fighter jets and warships near the island and regular large-scale military drills.Lai said in a Facebook post on Friday that “China’s … military threats in and around the Taiwan Strait and the island chain have severely undermined regional peace and stability.”Cheng landed in Shanghai on Tuesday evening, saying shortly after her arrival that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not doomed to war, as the international community has feared.”The KMT leader also traveled to the eastern city of Nanjing where she visited the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, one of the few Chinese historical figures revered in both Beijing and Taipei.BEIJING — China’s President Xi Jinping received Taiwan’s main opposition party leader in Beijing on Friday, in a rare meeting which saw both sides stress a desire for cross-strait peace.Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, but her trip has sparked debate in Taiwan with critics accusing her of being too pro-Beijing.China severed high-level contact with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency and rejected Beijing’s claims that the self-ruled island is part of its territory.Xi told Cheng as the two met on Friday that China will “absolutely not tolerate” independence for Taiwan, while calling for efforts to advance “reunification”.”The KMT and Communist Party must consolidate political mutual trust, maintain positive interaction, unite compatriots on both sides of the strait, and join hands to create a bright future of the motherland’s reunification and national rejuvenation,” he said.Meeting in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said today’s world is not entirely at peace, and peace is precious.”Compatriots on both sides of the strait are all Chinese — people of one family who want peace, development, exchange, and cooperation,” he said, in comments carried by Taiwan television stations.Both sides of the strait belong to “one China”, Xi added, according to a separate state media read out.”When the family is harmonious, all things will prosper,” he said. “Taiwan independence is the chief culprit in undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait — we will absolutely not tolerate or condone it.”China refuses to talk to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. Lai’s administration has called on Cheng to tell China to stop its threats, and says Beijing should engage with the democratically elected government in Taipei.“This is an inevitable part of history. We have full confidence in this,” Xi said during the talks carried by Taiwanese media.Cheng told Xi she hoped the Taiwan Strait would “no longer be a focal point of potential conflict.”“Both sides should transcend political confrontation…and seek a systemic solution to prevent and avoid war, so that the Taiwan Strait can become a model for peaceful conflict resolution in the world,” she said.Beijing has sworn to take Taiwan and has not ruled out using force, ramping up military pressure around the self-ruled island in recent years.China conducts near daily deployments of fighter jets and warships near the island and regular large-scale military drills.Lai said in a Facebook post on Friday that “China’s … military threats in and around the Taiwan Strait and the island chain have severely undermined regional peace and stability.”Cheng landed in Shanghai on Tuesday evening, saying shortly after her arrival that “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not doomed to war, as the international community has feared.”The KMT leader also traveled to the eastern city of Nanjing where she visited the mausoleum of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, one of the few Chinese historical figures revered in both Beijing and Taipei.
