China Says It Is Restoring Ties With Taiwan

Beijing is ready to restore air service and trade ties.

China has announced it will restore some ties with Taiwan following a visit to Beijing by opposition Kuomintang Party leader Chen Liwen and her meeting with People's Republic of China President Si Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. The PRC said Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan, such as direct flights and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products. The announcement came after a visit by the Beijing-friendly opposition leader of the self-governing island, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The Taiwan Labor Bureau of the Communist Party of China issued a statement saying it would study the possibility of establishing a long-term communication mechanism between the Communist Party and Taiwan's Kuomintang Party. It said it would facilitate the import of Taiwanese aquaculture products, which had previously been banned.

Cheng Li-wun, chairman of the Kuomintang, and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a high-level meeting Friday during which they called for peace. China considers the island part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it. The Mainland Taiwan Affairs Council, which oversees relations with China, said the announced measures, such as facilitating a communication mechanism, were "political agreements" between the two sides aimed at circumventing the Taiwanese government.

"The government's position is clear: to safeguard the interests of the nation and its people, all cross-Strait affairs involving state power should be discussed by both governments on an equal and dignified basis to be effective and truly protect the rights and welfare of the nation's Beijing has halted most of its official dialogue with the Taiwanese government and has begun sending warships and fighter jets ever closer to the island on a daily basis.

In a statement, China said it plans to resume direct flights between Taiwan and mainland Chinese cities such as Xi'an or Urumqi, although it remains unclear how these measures will be implemented without Taiwanese government approval.

China has banned its citizens from individual travel to Taiwan in 2019. Under Taiwan's rules, Chinese visitors must have a valid resident visa from another country, such as the United States or the European Union, to apply for a visitor visa.

China has also said it will work to build a bridge that would connect the mainland to Matsu and Jinmen, Taiwanese islands geographically closer to China. The project is a long-standing proposal that Beijing has announced before.

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