 On 25 June 2009, President Ma launched his bid to regain KMT's leadership and registered as the sole candidate for the election of the KMT chairmanship.On 26 July, Ma won 93.87% of the vote, becoming the new chairman of the KMT, taking office on 17 October 2009.This officially allows Ma to be able to meet with Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and other PRC delegates, as he is able to represent the KMT as leader of a Chinese political party, rather than as head-of-state of a political entity unrecognized by the PRC.