Taiwan minister makes rare trip to China for APEC meeting in first under Lai

Taiwan’s Labor Minister, Hung Sun-han, traveled to mainland China to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting in Nanjing.

Hung’s visit is the first ministerial-level trip to China by a member of President Lai Ching-te’s administration. High-level political visits across the Taiwan Strait have been exceptionally rare due to long-standing historical and political tensions.

Taiwan participates in APEC as a full member under the name "Chinese Taipei".

While lower-level Taiwanese officials have previously attended APEC events hosted in China, the presence of a sitting cabinet minister carries a much higher diplomatic profile, especially as Beijing continues daily military and political pressure on Taipei.

Analysts view the trip as a pragmatic engagement by the Lai administration within established multilateral frameworks, rather than an immediate signal of a broader political thaw, given that Beijing still refuses direct talks with Lai, labeling him a separatist.

China is serving as the host nation for APEC events this year, culminating in the leaders' summit scheduled for Shenzhen in November.

As reported, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group is one of the few international bodies that Chinese-claimed Taiwan belongs to, and China is the host nation this year, with a leader’s summit scheduled for November in Shenzhen.