China unveils new incentives for Taiwan after opposition leader meets Xi Jinping

Beijing paired a new package of 10 incentives for Taiwan with a blunt political message, signaling that economic relief will come only on China’s terms. The measures, announced by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, followed Xi Jinping’s meeting with Cheng Li-wun, the chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party.

The package eases tourist restrictions, allows more Taiwanese-produced television dramas, documentaries and animation to be shown in China, and makes it easier for Taiwanese food and fishery products to enter the mainland market. It also calls for resuming individual travel to Taiwan for residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province and pushing for the “full normalization” of direct cross-strait passenger flights. Beijing also said it would explore a regular communication mechanism between Taiwan’s Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese state messaging made clear that the politics mattered as much as the economics. The Xi-Cheng meeting was described as the first top-level meeting between the two parties across the Taiwan Strait in a decade, and Cheng’s six-day visit included stops in Nanjing, Shanghai and Beijing. The package was framed as tied to what Beijing calls the political foundation of opposing Taiwan independence.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council rejected that framing, calling the proposals “poisoned pills” packaged as generous gifts and saying cross-strait exchanges should not come with political preconditions. The Kuomintang welcomed the announcement, calling it “a gift to the people of Taiwan,” a split that underscored how Beijing is trying to widen divisions inside Taiwan by offering benefits to one side while isolating the island’s governing camp.

The timing sharpened the pressure. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it spotted 16 Chinese warplanes near the island around the same time Xi met Cheng, reinforcing the mix of outreach and military intimidation that has long shaped cross-strait politics. Xi also told Cheng that China would “absolutely not tolerate” Taiwan independence, a warning aimed not just at Taipei but at voters watching the confrontation unfold.

The broader contest is about leverage. Beijing has refused to speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom it calls a separatist, while Taiwan has accused China of repeatedly using trade, travel and tourism as political weapons. China banned individual trips by mainland residents to Taiwan in 2019, and the latest incentives reverse some of that pressure while preserving the message that engagement is possible only if Taiwan accepts Beijing’s red lines.

For Taiwan, the package is not just about flights, television or farm exports. It is another attempt to use ordinary economic life to shape political loyalty before the next cross-strait flashpoint, and to show U.S. allies that China is still willing to mix inducement with coercion across the Taiwan Strait.