Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday morning met with Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Beijing.

Invited by the CPC Central Committee and Xi, Cheng is the first KMT chairperson to have led a delegation to the Chinese mainland in the past decade. The delegation had visited Jiangsu Province and Shanghai before coming to Beijing.

Xi said this meeting between the CPC and KMT leaders after 10 years is of great significance for developing relations between the two parties and across the Taiwan Strait.

Xi stressed that no matter how the international landscape and the situation across the Taiwan Strait may evolve, the overarching trend toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will not change, and the prevailing momentum for the Chinese on both sides of the Strait to come together will not change.

He added that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait hope for peace and tranquility, improved cross-Strait relations, and better lives. "This is a responsibility that the CPC and the KMT cannot shirk, and also a driving force for the two parties to work together," Xi said.

Xi expressed the willingness to work with all political parties in Taiwan, including the KMT, as well as groups and people from all sectors, to strengthen exchanges and dialogue, promote peace across the Taiwan Strait, improve the well-being of the people and advance national rejuvenation, on the basis of the common political foundation of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence."

He called for forging closer bonds across the Strait by upholding a correct understanding of identity.

"Differences in social systems should not be an excuse for secession," Xi said.

Xi called for safeguarding the shared homeland through peaceful development. The core issue for safeguarding the shared homeland lies in recognizing that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, Xi said.

"We welcome any proposals conducive to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and will spare no effort to advance any endeavors that promote such development," Xi said, adding that "Taiwan independence" is the chief culprit undermining peace across the Taiwan Strait. "We should neither condone nor tolerate it." Xinhua