TAIPEI — Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of the Kuomintang, will touch down in mainland China on Tuesday, marking the first visit by a KMT chair in ten years. Cheng has been advocating for closer ties with Beijing and opposes a proposed $40 billion increase in Taiwan's defense spending over the next eight years put forward by President Lai Ching-te.

The 56-year-old Cheng, who has led the KMT since November, framed the trip in terms of regional stability. "The world views the Taiwan Strait as the most severe and dangerous powder keg," she said. "Both sides of the Taiwan Strait should do their best to use peaceful means to stabilize the situation."

Lai proposed increasing Taiwan's defense spending by $40 billion over the next eight years, but Cheng's opposition has stalled approval of the government's budget in Taiwan. The KMT has traditionally maintained warm ties with Beijing.

A spokesperson for Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said Thursday, "By summoning Cheng Li-wun, Xi Jinping is attempting to sever Taiwan's military procurement from the United States." The government of the Republic of China said it supports healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges but expects Cheng to demand that Beijing recognize the Republic of China's existence and immediately stop sending military aircraft around Taiwan.

Cheng entered politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a student activist who advocated for Taiwan's independence and at the time criticized the KMT — the party she now leads. "It should not be a life-and-death struggle," she said of cross-strait relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pressed to unify Taiwan with the mainland by force if necessary and has objected to U.S. arms sales to the self-governing island. Taiwan, a democracy with a population of approximately 23 million people, rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims. The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is the island's most important international backer, and arms sales have been a recurring issue in U.S.-China relations.

Separately, the Trump administration has put a $14 billion arms package for Taiwan on hold, a step intended to avoid irritating Xi before a May summit.