(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Taiwan yesterday to set aside their differences after a rocky patch in ties that saw Beijing rebuke the island for supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Xi met Vincent Siew, Taiwan's top envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Beijing, and, in a political breakthrough, also met Wang Yu-chi, chairman of Taiwan's policymaking Mainland Affairs Council, the highest level government-to-government contact between the two on Chinese soil since 1949.
Xi told Siew that "it was unavoidable that the two sides would encounter difficulties and resistance due to some differences", state news agency Xinhua reported.
"(We) must respect each other's choice of development path and social system," Xi said, apparently referring to Taiwan embracing capitalism and democracy and China adhering to socialism and authoritarianism.
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou riled China last month when he urged Beijing to move toward a more democratic style of development and reiterated his support for demonstrators in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong who were calling for full democracy.
Anti-China sentiment has been simmering in Taiwan ahead of hotly contested mayoral elections this month.
Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, headed by Ma, favours closer economic links with China, but not unification unless the mainland becomes a democracy. Taiwan's main opposition party espouses formal independence.
China and Taiwan "should further mutual trust and maintain virtuous interaction," Xi said, adding that China and Taiwan should "deepen economic, cultural, technological and educational exchanges and cooperation".
The two sides have been ruled separately since 1949 when Nationalist troops retreated to Taiwan after losing a civil war to the Communists on the mainland. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, has sought to push the island into diplomatic isolation and vowed to attack if the island formally declared independence.
President Ma and his predecessors have never been able to attend an Apec summit, despite the island being a member, due to arm-twisting by Beijing. Taiwan's top delegate to previous Apec meetings have been either business leaders or retirees such as Siew, a former vice president.
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