China said on Sunday it would resume some ties it had suspended with Taiwan, such as direct flights and imports of Taiwanese aquaculture products, following a visit by the Beijing-friendly opposition leader to the self-governing island.
The Taiwan Work Bureau under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party issued a statement saying it would investigate establishing a long-standing communication mechanism between the Communist Party and Taiwan’s Kuomingtang Party. It said it will facilitate the import of Taiwanese aquaculture products, which it had previously banned.
Cheng Li-wun, the head of the Kuomingtang, and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a high-profile meeting on Friday in which they called for peace, without giving details. China claims the island as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees relations with China, said the announced measures, such as promoting a communications mechanism, were “political transactions” between the two sides that bypassed Taiwan’s government.
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China said it will restore some suspended ties with Taiwan after a high-profile meeting between Xi Jinping, right, and Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, left, in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via access point)
“The government’s position is clear: to safeguard the interests of the nation and its people, both governments must negotiate on an equal and dignified basis on all cross-Strait matters involving public power, to be effective and truly protect the people’s rights and welfare,” the Mainland Affairs Council said in response to the Chinese announcement.
Relations between China and Taiwan, still divided since 1949, have been tense since the election of pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Beijing has largely halted official dialogue with the Taiwanese government and has begun sending warships and fighter jets closer to the island on a daily basis.
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XI Jinping meets with a Kuomintang delegation in Beijing, China, on April 10, 2026. Taiwan withdrew after China announced new cross-border 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 such as 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 travel to Taiwan in 2019. Taiwan’s rules now require Chinese visitors to hold a valid resident visa from another country, such as the US or the European Union, to apply for a visitor visa.
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Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting with Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday, April 10, 2026. China offers limited trade and travel opportunities to Taiwan as it continues to assert its territorial claim on the self-ruled island. (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via access point)
China also said it would work to build a bridge that would connect the mainland with Matsu and Kinmen, Taiwanese islands geographically closer to China. The project is a long-standing proposal that Beijing has previously announced.
China banned the import of Taiwanese pineapple in 2021 and has since expanded it to other fruits and products including grouper, squid and tuna.
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Following the initial ban on grouper, Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture said it had approached China to make adjustments to ensure it met import requirements. China responded with a limited list of individual companies allowed to sell to China, but without explanation.
