<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday, urging the island's main opposition party to help seek "unification of the country."</p>.<p>China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.</p>.<p>Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as "inevitable."</p>.<p>In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu -- the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party -- Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a "shared political basis."</p>.<p>"In the past our two parties insisted on '1992 consensus' and opposing 'Taiwan independence' ... to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations," Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.</p>.<p>"At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim," he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and "the unification of the country."</p>.<p>Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.</p>.<p>The KMT has side-stepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus -- a tacit agreement that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.</p>.<p>In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should "seek common ground and respect their differences" to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.</p>.<p>Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of "one China."</p>.<p>Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.</p>.<p>On Thursday, China flew 24 warplanes including two nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, the biggest incursion in weeks, after voicing its opposition to Taipei joining a major trans-Pacific trade deal.</p>
<p>Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were "grim" on Sunday, urging the island's main opposition party to help seek "unification of the country."</p>.<p>China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary.</p>.<p>Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as "inevitable."</p>.<p>In a congratulatory letter to Eric Chu -- the newly elected leader of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party -- Xi said the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT should collaborate under a "shared political basis."</p>.<p>"In the past our two parties insisted on '1992 consensus' and opposing 'Taiwan independence' ... to promote peaceful developments in cross- strait relations," Xi said in the letter released by the KMT.</p>.<p>"At present the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim," he said, urging the parties to jointly seek peace and "the unification of the country."</p>.<p>Ties between Taiwan and China improved markedly under former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT between 2008 and 2016, culminating with a landmark meeting between Xi and him in Singapore in 2015.</p>.<p>The KMT has side-stepped frictions with China by accepting the so-called 1992 consensus -- a tacit agreement that there is only "one China" without specifying whether Beijing or Taipei is its rightful representative.</p>.<p>In response, Chu said in a letter to Xi that the two sides should "seek common ground and respect their differences" to promote peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.</p>.<p>Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a sovereign nation and not part of "one China."</p>.<p>Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, with some analysts warning that tensions between the two sides were at their highest since the mid-1990s.</p>.<p>On Thursday, China flew 24 warplanes including two nuclear-capable bombers into Taiwan's air defence zone, the biggest incursion in weeks, after voicing its opposition to Taipei joining a major trans-Pacific trade deal.</p>