The leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party said Monday (March 23, 2026) she hoped to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and build a “bridge” to resolve disputes between China and the democratic island, which Beijing has threatened to seize by force.

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing insists the self-governed island of more than 23 million people is part of its territory, and uses military pressure to assert its sovereignty claim.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who has been a strident critic of President Lai Ching-te’s government since taking up her role in November, has insisted on meeting Xi before she makes an official trip to the United States.

While the KMT has long supported closer ties with Beijing, Ms. Cheng has been accused by Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of doing Beijing’s bidding by stalling the government’s defence spending plans.

There are concerns inside the KMT that a Cheng-Xi meeting could trigger a voter backlash in Taiwan’s district elections later this year.

But speaking to foreign media on Monday, Ms. Cheng said talks with Mr. Xi would carry “signficant symbolic meaning” and could be a “foundation” to peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait.

“I do not believe a single meeting can resolve all the issues that have been accumulating for nearly a century,” Ms. Cheng said.

“But… I hope I can successfully build such a bridge.”

While Ms. Cheng has expressed confidence that a meeting with Mr. Xi will happen, there has been no confirmation from Beijing.

Ms. Cheng’s remarks came as Taiwan’s parliament began reviewing rival proposals for special defence spending that are aimed at boosting the island’s military capabilities against a potential Chinese attack.

Mr. Lai’s government has proposed NT$1.25 trillion ($39 billion) in spending on critical defence purchases, including US arms, while the KMT wants to allocate NT$380 billion for U.S. weapons with the option for more acquisitions.

While the KMT supported having stronger defences, Ms. Cheng said more military spending alone would not achieve peace with China.

“There must also be political efforts. Political efforts are… the key,” Ms. Cheng said.

China severed high-level communications with Taiwan in 2016 after Mr. Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, who also belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party, took power.

Chinese leaders detest Lai, who Beijing calls a “separatist”.

Ms. Cheng said her push for closer relations with China did not come at the expense of the United States, which is Taiwan’s biggest arms provider.

Lawmakers in Washington have been critical of Taiwan’s opposition parties for blocking the government’s defence spending bill.

“The KMT has long had very good relations with the United States, and improving our relations with the mainland (China) will not affect that,” Ms. Cheng said.

“We do not need to choose one or the other.”

Taiwan’s main opposition Nationalist Party chose a former lawmaker as its new chairperson on Saturday (October 18, 2025) in a competitive election clouded by allegations of China’s meddling.

By a wide margin, Cheng Li-wun — the only female candidate in the race who positioned herself as a reformist — defeated former Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin and four others contesting the leadership of the China-friendly party. The Nationalists, also known as the KMT, maintain strong political influence in Taiwan despite losing three consecutive presidential elections to the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

The KMT holds enough seats to form a majority bloc with its allies in the legislature and survived two recall elections just months ago that were sparked by concerns over their lawmakers passing changes seen as diminishing the power of the executive and favouring China, which considers the island as its own territory.

Scheduled to take office in November, Ms. Cheng could influence how Taiwan handles its relationship with Beijing and other key policies and domestic and international political matters. She will also anchor the party in the 2026 local elections. The KMT is also likely to field a candidate challenging President Lai Ching-te’s DPP in the 2028 race.

During her campaign, Ms. Cheng pledged to turn KMT from a flock of “sheep” into “lions,” opposing Mr. Lai’s proposal to boost defence budget to 5% of GDP, or gross domestic product, local media reported. She was once a DPP member.

In a news conference after the win, the party’s second elected female chair said the Nationalists would uphold the principles of equality, respect and mutual benefits in handling external relations.

“We must not let Taiwan become a troublemaker. Second, we must not let Taiwan become the sacrifice of geopolitics,” she said, adding her party would also be a peacemaker.

Beijing has a particularly strained relationship with Mr. Lai, whom it accuses of being a separatist. It has threatened to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, if necessary, and has increasingly mobilised military, diplomatic and economic pressure in an attempt to undermine Lai’s administration.

Traditionally, KMT has had warmer ties with Beijing, with Chinese politicians visiting for exchanges. Supporters of the KMT see the ties as beneficial to the island democracy’s stability and economy, but its critics are wary of the influence Beijing exerts.

Over the past week, Jaw Shaw-kong, Hau’s supporter in the party, alleged that China was involved in an organised interference, citing videos attacking Hau and supporting Ms. Cheng.

The head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming-yen, said it found over 1,000 videos discussing the election on TikTok, in addition to 23 YouTube accounts posting related content, with over half of the YouTube accounts based outside of Taiwan. He did not say which candidates these videos supported or directly answer whether they were based in China.

Ms. Cheng rejected the allegations of China’s influencing her party as “very cheap labels,” urging politicians to return the island’s politics to rationality.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that Cheng’s election was the party’s internal affair and the views of some mainland Chinese internet users did not represent the government’s position.

DPP spokesperson Wu Cheng cautioned that Chinese interference was obvious and the KMT should carefully guard against it, saying his party hoped that the new chair would prioritise Taiwan’s safety over party interests.

Under late leader Chiang Kai-shek, the Nationalists rose to power in China during the 1920s, fighting invasion by Japan and then Mao Zedong’s communists, before fleeing to Taiwan with the remnants of his forces when Mao’s insurgents took power. Taiwan began transitioning from martial law rule to multiparty democracy in the 1980s and held its first direct presidential election in 1996.