Taiwan's Opposition Leader Seeks To Win Friends In China With A High-stakes Visit

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A fewer weeks earlier President Donald Trump arrives successful China adjacent month, Chinese President Xi Jinping will person different visitor: Taiwan’s guidance leader.

When Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party, touches down successful China connected Tuesday, it will people nan first clip successful a decade that nan caput of her statement visits nan mainland.

It will besides beryllium a defining measurement for Cheng, 56, who took nan reins of nan statement — besides known arsenic nan Kuomintang aliases KMT — successful November, successful a governmental about-face that has made her a divisive fig successful Taiwan, a self-ruling populist that rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Her position is that nan land of 23 cardinal group urgently needs to prosecute pinch China to debar war, and that group should “be capable to proudly and confidently say, ‘I americium Chinese.’”

The KMT has traditionally kept lukewarm ties pinch Beijing. Yet Cheng’s push to clasp China is simply a awesome pivot from nan views she held erstwhile she entered authorities successful nan precocious 1980s and early 1990s, arsenic a vocal student activistic urging Taiwan's independence.

Back then, Cheng was known for her disapproval of nan KMT, which ruled Taiwan nether martial rule until 1987. Now, arsenic statement leader, she is taking a deliberate move toward China, moreover arsenic it ramps up subject and different unit connected nan island.

“The world views nan Taiwan Strait arsenic nan astir terrible and vulnerable powder keg,” Cheng told NBC News successful an exclusive question and reply astatine nan party’s office successful cardinal Taipei. “Both sides of nan Taiwan Strait should do their champion to usage serene intends to stabilize nan situation.”

“It should not beryllium a life-and-death struggle,” she said.

Like different Chinese leaders earlier him, Xi has pressed to “unify” Taiwan pinch nan mainland, by unit if necessary, and objected to arms income to nan island by nan United States, which has nary general ties pinch Taiwan but is its astir important world backer. The deals are a awesome flashpoint successful U.S.-China relations and are apt to apical nan schedule erstwhile Xi hosts Trump successful Beijing connected May 14 and 15.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te during a sojourn to nan Songshan subject airbase successful Taipei successful 2025.I-Hwa Cheng / AFP via Getty Images

The timing of Xi’s invitation to Cheng to meet pinch him weeks earlier Trump is nary coincidence: In Taiwan, Cheng’s guidance to a projected $40 cardinal summation successful defense spending complete nan adjacent 8 years by President Lai Ching-te has stalled support of nan government’s budget.

The hold could jeopardize a $14 cardinal U.S. arms package that was already put connected clasp by nan Trump management to not irritate Xi earlier nan May summit.

A spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said Thursday that, by “summoning” Cheng, Xi was “attempting to sever Taiwan’s subject procurement from nan United States.”

While nan authorities of Taiwan, formally known arsenic nan Republic of China, supports “healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges,” it hopes Cheng “will firmly request that Beijing look nan reality of nan Republic of China’s beingness and instantly extremity sending subject craft astir Taiwan,” spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh said.

Cheng has said that her position connected U.S. arms and Taiwan’s defense spending should not beryllium interpreted arsenic being “anti-American.”

“For me, improving our narration pinch mainland China will ne'er discuss our narration pinch nan U.S. They are not a zero-sum, ‘either-or’ choice,” she said.

News of Cheng’s sojourn to China adjacent week was swirling arsenic a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation arrived successful Taipei to impulse lawmakers to break their logjam complete nan spending summation and easiness concerns successful Washington astir nan island’s expertise to take sides itself.

The Taiwanese subject conducting a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire trial motorboat astatine nan Jiupeng guidelines successful Pingtung successful 2025.I-Hwa Cheng / AFP via Getty Images file

“Those capabilities, arsenic we look astatine nan imaginable threat and nan challenges ahead, require a definite level of capacity and technological expertise that are going to cost,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told reporters Wednesday.

Cheng has said Taiwan cannot spend to overspend connected defense, particularly pinch backlogs of arms orders that nan U.S. has still not delivered. She besides accused Lai, who is reviled by Beijing arsenic a “separatist,” of concealing accusation astir really nan money will beryllium allocated and spent.

“In Taiwan, we must do everything successful our powerfulness to forestall a warfare successful nan Taiwan Strait,” she said.

Lai has warned that guidance delays to defense spending could discuss Taiwan’s nationalist information and springiness nan incorrect belief to nan world organization astir nan island’s determination to take sides itself, saying successful February that “short-changing Taiwan’s defence to kowtow to nan CCP is playing pinch fire.”

It is unclear really Cheng’s outward clasp of China sits pinch Taiwanese voters, who person elected Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party successful nan past 3 statesmanlike elections. Since Trump's return to nan White House, location is little assurance among nan nationalist that nan U.S. will travel to Taiwan’s assistance successful nan arena of a subject conflict, polls show.