On May 4, 2015,

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CCP)

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

and

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

(KMT) Chairman

Eric Chu Eric Chu Li-luan (; born on 7 June 1961) is a Taiwanese politician. He was born into a political family with strong Kuomintang (KMT) ties, and served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China, under Premier Wu Den-yih. Prior to this, Chu served ...

met in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

Background

After

became the

General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secretary has been the paramount lead ...

in November 2012, the KMT repeatedly proposed a potential meeting between Xi and

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei fro ...

, who served as Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2009 to 2014. Nothing came of the plans until 2015, when Chu was elected KMT chair.

Timeline

Preparation

In January 2015,

became the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the KMT. On March 11, 2015, , the former KMT spokesman, was consulted about the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Culture Forum, but details of the discussion were not publicly disclosed. On April 12, 2015, Eric Chu confirmed that he would be attending the 10th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Culture Forum, which was to be held in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

on May 2–3, 2015, but the Xi-Chu meeting was not yet confirmed. On April 24, 2015,

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), as stipul ...

spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said that Chu and Xi would meet.

Chu's visit to Mainland China

Shanghai

On May 2, 2015, Eric Chu arrived at

Shanghai Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of two international airports serving Shanghai and a major aviation hub of East Asia. Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic fights, while the city's oth ...

and shook hands with the head of the

of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee,

Zhang Zhijun Zhang Zhijun (; born 1 February 1953) is a Chinese diplomat and politician. From 17 March 2013 to 21 March 2018, he has served as the Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. He is currently the president of the Association ...

. That same day, Chu attended a Cross-Strait Economic, Trade, and Culture Forum held in Shanghai. He shook hands with Yu Zhengsheng, the chairman of the

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. At this forum, Chu mentioned the

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world. The br ...

, a regional development bank led by the Chinese Government. Also, Chu visited

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

and delivered a speech.

Beijing

On May 4, 2015, Chu arrived in

and met with

, the General Secretary of the CCP. Xi said that Mainland China and Taiwan should settle political differences through consultation of the "

One China The term One China may refer to one of the following: * The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legit ...

" policy. Chu also said that the

1992 Consensus The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semiofficial representatives of the People's Republic of China (PRC) of mainland China and the Republic of China (ROC) of Taiwan. They are of ...

could be expanded to the international realm. After meeting Xi, Chu delivered a speech at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

Controversy

On May 4, 2015, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

reported on the Xi-Chu meeting. The report quoted Eric Chu as saying that his party supports "eventual unification". But the chair of the KMT's Culture and Communications Committee, Yang Wei-chung, said that the report was mistaken. After the KMT filed a complaint, the AP rescinded the report.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 Xi-Chu meeting Cross-Strait relations 2015 in China