The encounter was the second between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, who made headlines when he became the first Taiwanese leader to meet his Chinese counterpart.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday received former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where Xi declared both sides of the Taiwan Strait must pursue “reunification.”
The media had previously believed the two would meet on Monday. Some analysts have suggested the meeting was pushed forward to coincide with U.S. President Joe Biden’s summit with Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Washington, D.C.
The Republic of China, the official name of Taiwan’s government, fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The Chinese Communist Party claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island and has pledged to someday unify with it, through force if necessary.
Wednesday marked Xi’s second face-to-face with Ma, who made headlines in 2015 when he became the first Taiwanese leader to meet his Chinese counterpart since the split. Ma is a member of Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) part, which officially favors closer ties with Beijing without unification.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Xi stressed that “compatriots” on both sides of the 90-mile-wide strait share a bloodline and common history and culture, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office wrote.
Both sides of the strait must firmly oppose “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and meddling by external forces, firmly safeguard the common homeland of the Chinese nation, and together pursue peaceful reunification, he added.
