New Delhi, April 8 -- Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun arrived in China on Tuesday at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, in what she's calling a "journey for peace" as Beijing pushes for the self-ruled island to come under its control.

The visit is the first by a Taiwanese opposition leader in a decade and comes ahead of a meeting in Beijing between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled to take place in May.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament has stalled attempts by its government to pass a $40 billion special defense budget, expected to fund arms deals with the United States and the development of Taiwan's indigenous defense industry.

China claims the self-ruled island as its own territory and has no...