In a landmark visit to one of China’s most dynamic economic hubs, Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun has publicly called for deepened goodwill and mutual trust between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, after being struck by the mainland’s vibrant innovation and rapid development during a four-day tour that included stops in Shanghai.\n\nCheng, who leads a cross-party KMT delegation, traveled to Shanghai from Nanjing via high-speed rail on Wednesday afternoon, kicking off her itinerary with a visit to the headquarters of on-demand service giant Meituan. During the stop, the delegation tested the platform’s cutting-edge drone food delivery system, getting an up-close look at the mainland’s fast-evolving smart economy ecosystem. Cheng herself even placed an order for milk tea through the Meituan app, experiencing the convenience of the mainland’s digital services firsthand.\n\nThe following morning, Cheng and her delegation continued their tour with two key stops: Yangshan Port, one of the world’s busiest automated container terminals that serves as a linchpin of global trade, and the Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute, a division of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) — the state-owned manufacturer behind China’s domestically developed C919 narrow-body passenger jet. These visits allowed the delegation to observe the mainland’s major progress in advanced manufacturing, infrastructure development, and technological self-reliance.\n\nIn a press briefing after the tours, Cheng praised Shanghai for its remarkable prosperity and urban charm, while reflecting on the city’s turbulent wartime history and its extraordinary transformation into a global economic center over the past decades. “Peace is the most powerful force,” Cheng told reporters. “Given enough time, peace can make anything possible.”\n\nShe emphasized that people across the Taiwan Strait should remain steadfast in their commitment to cross-Strait peaceful development, laying the groundwork for greater mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges through sustained goodwill. After completing her engagements in Shanghai, the KMT delegation departed for Beijing on Thursday afternoon to continue their cross-Strait exchange itinerary.
Impressed by Shanghai’s vitality, KMT leader urges cross-Strait goodwill, mutual trust
