Taiwan opposition leader makes rare visit to China

SHANGHAI: Taiwan’s main opposition leader landed in China on Tuesday for a rare visit aimed at building cross-strait “peace,” as the government warns Beijing will seek to stop US arms sales to the democratic island.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, who is the party’s first leader to visit China in a decade, has insisted on meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping before she visits the United States — Taiwan’s main security backer.

The KMT supports closer relations with China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.

But Cheng, whose unexpected rise to the top of the KMT drew a congratulatory message from Xi in October, has been accused by critics, including inside the party, of being too pro-China.

The KMT leader landed at an airport in Shanghai early Tuesday afternoon, state news agency Xinhua said.