The first Chinese delegation to visit Taiwan since the start of the Covid pandemic received a
“warm welcome”
, said the mayor of Taipei on Monday, which is led by the Kuomintang party, more favorable to a rapprochement with China than the Democratic Progressive Party. of President Tsai Ing-wen.
The six members of the Chinese delegation, which arrived from Shanghai on Saturday, met the mayor of the Taiwanese capital, Chiang Wan-an, a Kuomintang (KMT) member.
The visit comes after a series of recent exchanges between Beijing and the island of Taiwan, which is preparing for the 2024 presidential election.
Read alsoAfter the invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan prepares to face China
Chinese and Taiwanese officials
"exchanged views on municipal issues, such as culture, sports and tourism... The Shanghai delegation also said they received a warm welcome,"
Taipei City Hall said. in a statement Monday.
Due to political tensions between Taiwan and China, trade was limited even before the pandemic.
"Work together"
Beijing claims the Democratic Island as part of its territory and has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016. Asked if the visit was a sign of warming relations, the head of the Shanghai delegation, Li Xiaodong, replied on Sunday:
“We look forward to it”
.
“But it's impossible to achieve radical change just through a task force like mine.
Both parties must work together
,” he added.
KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia recently made a nine-day trip to China, where he called for more direct flights and the lifting of import restrictions.
Read alsoChinese demonstrations of anger do not go unnoticed in Taiwan
Last year, Beijing banned imports of Taiwanese fruit and fish, in retaliation for the visit to the island in August by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
After this official trip by the American representative, Sino-Taiwanese relations had reached their lowest point, Beijing having at the time retorted with gigantic military maneuvers around the island.
Taiwan Affairs Office chief in Beijing Song Tao assured Andrew Hsia that the Chinese Communist Party is ready to work with the KMT to promote relations based on the principle of rejecting the island's independence , according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.