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On Sunday, China announced it would reinstate certain connections with Taiwan, including the resumption of direct flights and the importation of Taiwanese aquaculture products. This decision follows a recent visit from a leader of Taiwan’s opposition party, known for its amicable stance toward Beijing.
The Chinese Communist Party’s Taiwan Work Office released a statement indicating plans to establish a long-term communication channel between the Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomintang Party. It also mentioned lifting previous bans on Taiwanese aquaculture imports, signaling a potential thaw in certain economic relations.
Cheng Li-wun, head of the Kuomintang, met with China’s President Xi Jinping in a prominent meeting on Friday. During their discussions, both leaders expressed a desire for peace, although specific details were not disclosed. China continues to assert that Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out the possibility of using force to achieve reunification.
In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which manages relations with China, criticized the announced measures. They labeled them as “political transactions” between the two parties, suggesting these moves bypass Taiwan’s official government channels.
The announcement followed a significant meeting in Beijing on April 10, 2026, between Xi Jinping and Cheng Li-wun, underscoring a potentially pivotal moment in cross-strait relations. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
“The government’s position is clear: to ensure the interests of the nation and its people, all Cross-Strait affairs involving public power must be negotiated by both governments on an equal and dignified basis to be effective and truly protect the rights and well-being of the people,” the Mainland Affairs Council said in response to the Chinese announcement.
Relations between China and Taiwan, which remain split since 1949, have been tense since the election of pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen from the Democratic Progressive Party in 2016. Beijing cut off most of its official dialogue with Taiwan’s government, and has started sending warships and fighter jets closer toward the island on a daily basis.
Xi Jinping meets with a delegation of the Kuomintang in Beijing, China, on April 10, 2026. Taiwan pushed back after China announced new cross-strait measures following Xi Jinping’s meeting with the Beijing-friendly opposition leader. (Li Xiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
In the statement, China said it plans to resume direct flights between Taiwan and mainland cities like Xi’an or Urumqi, although it remained unclear how the measures will be implemented without the approval of the Taiwanese government.
China banned its citizens from individual trips to Taiwan in 2019. Taiwan’s rules now require Chinese visitors to hold a valid resident visa from another country, like the U.S. or the European Union, to apply for a visitor visa.
Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting with Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026. China is offering limited trade and travel openings to Taiwan while continuing to press its territorial claim over the self-ruled island. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP)
China also said it would work toward construction of a bridge that would connect the mainland to Matsu and Kinmen, Taiwanese islands that are closer geographically to China. The project is a longstanding proposal that Beijing has previously announced.
China banned the import of Taiwanese pineapples in 2021, and since then has extended it to other fruits and products including the grouper fish, squid and tuna.
After the initial ban on grouper, Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture said it approached China about making adjustments to ensure it met import requirements. China replied with a limited list of individual companies that were allowed to sell to China, but without explanation.