Taiwan opposition leader meets Xi Jinping in Beijing

China's President Xi Jinping received Taiwan's main opposition party leader on Friday, in a rare meeting which saw both sides stress a desire for cross-strait peace.

Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's (KMT) first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.

In 2016, Beijing cut off high-level communications with Taiwan after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen became president, citing her refusal to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation. The DPP is among those who have criticised Cheng's trip, accusing her of being "subservient" to Beijing.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking the self-governed island by force.

"The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future," said Xi in a meeting at China's Great Hall of the People on Friday.

He added that China was willing - on the common political foundation of opposing Taiwan independence - to strength exchange and dialogue together with various parties, including the KMT.

Xi also reiterated that those on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese, and that they all wanted peace.

In response, Cheng said the "rejuvenation of the Chinese people is a shared aspiration of the people on both sides of the Strait".

She added that it would be a "positive contribution to world peace and human progress".

The KMT has traditionally maintained warm ties with China, though Cheng's eagerness to visit contrasts with her predecessors' more cautious approach towards cross-strait relations, some analysts say.

Beijing has refused to hold formal dialogue with Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, whom they have labelled a "separatist".

Lai has repeatedly committed to maintaining the status quo in cross-strait relations. But Chinese authorities and state media have heaped bitter rhetoric against him, calling him a "troublemaker" and "warmonger".

Most people in Taiwan consider themselves a sovereign nation. But many also favour keeping the "status quo" in cross-strait relations, neither unifying with China nor formally declaring independence.