Chinese President Xi Jinping invited the Kuomintang chair ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China.
On the 30th, Song Tao, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office under the China State Council, conveyed the invitation, saying, "The Communist Party of China Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping welcome Kuomintang Chair Cheng Li-yuan and the visiting delegation to China."
As the background for the invitation, the peaceful development of relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and of cross-strait (China and Taiwan) ties was presented.
Accordingly, the pro-China Chair Cheng will visit Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang from the 7th to the 12th of next month.
In response, the Kuomintang immediately replied, saying, "Chair Cheng expressed gratitude and readily accepted the invitation," and added, "We hope to promote exchanges and cooperation to seek peace in the Taiwan Strait and add welfare to people's livelihoods."
This will be the first visit to China by a Kuomintang chair since then-Chair Hung Hsiu-chu visited Beijing and Nanjing in 2016 and held talks with Xi.
Meanwhile, analysis suggests that Chair Cheng's visit, coming as Trump prepares to visit China, indicates Beijing is seeking to seize the initiative on the Taiwan issue.
Earlier, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said a meeting between Trump and Xi is scheduled for May 14–15.