Though the PFP's position in Taiwanese politic is more tenuous, because Soong had met with President Chen Shui-bian early in the year and the two had jointly announced a ten-point consensus, observers saw Soong's visit to China as testing the waters for a potential establishment of relations between Chen's administration and China's rulers, prompting much speculation.
親民黨雖在國內政治版圖上屈居弱勢，但因年初宋楚瑜曾與陳水扁總統會談並發表「十點共識」，因此外界將宋楚瑜訪中視為陳總統與中國建立關係的投石問路之行而賦予許多聯想。