US invites KMT chief Cheng Li-wun to Washington, stresses priority to ‘avoid war’

De facto ambassador Raymond Greene meets opposition party’s new chairwoman two weeks after the Xi-Trump summit in Busan

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Raymond Greene (left), the de facto US ambassador to Taiwan, met with Cheng Li-wun, the new leader of the KMT, just two weeks after a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Busan last month. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:00pm, 13 Nov 2025

The head of the de facto US embassy in Taiwan has invited new Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun to visit the United States, stressing that avoiding war is the top priority.

The invitation from Raymond Greene, director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), came during an in-person meeting at the KMT headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, according to a statement from Taiwan’s largest opposition party.

The KMT – considered friendlier to Beijing than the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – holds a slim majority in the legislature with the island’s other opposition party, the Taiwan People’s Party.

“The US has never sought conflict across the Taiwan Strait. The primary goal is to avoid war and ensure that any cross-strait differences are handled peacefully and without coercion,” Greene said.

New KMT chairwoman Cheng Li-wun speaks during a leadership oath ceremony in Taipei on November 1. Photo: EPA

His remarks came just two months after a comment from the institute publicly challenging Beijing’s position on Taiwan.

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