Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's opposition chief expressed shared concern about souring relations between the two sides in the wake of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party's rise to power on the island.
The encounter between Xi and Kuomintang Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu represented the first high-level exchange since the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen assumed the presidency in May and replaced the more China-friendly KMT. Xi hasn't yet met Tsai, whose party was founded on the principle of independence from China, and continues to voice skepticism about closer ties.
Xi, who received Hung in his capacity as the Chinese Communist Party's general secretary, said the two sides comprised an "inseverable community of common destiny" and warned against any move toward independence, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. "Looking into the future, the KMT and CPC should take responsibility for the nation and history," Xi said.