The leaders of Taiwan and China plan to meet Saturday, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported, citing a spokesman in Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s office.
The meeting between Ma and Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place in Singapore, according to the spokesman, who said the Taiwanese leader should make an official announcement Thursday.
China’s Foreign Ministry previously announced that Xi would be in Singapore on Saturday and Sunday at the invitation of President Tony Tan.
Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949 after Nationalist forces lost the civil war to the Communists and fled the mainland, but Beijing still considers the island a breakaway province. China has warned that a formal declaration of independence could lead to military intervention and reportedly has missiles pointed at the island nation.
Despite this rift, China is Taiwan’s biggest trade partner, hundreds of flights go between the two nations each week, and Chinese banks now operate on the island, while some Taiwanese companies have factories in China.
Ma, the head of the Kuomintang party, has been a key driver in forging closer ties since he came to power in a 2008 election.
Still, major tensions persist — which is why having the heads of state from both countries meet face to face is a big deal.
Massive protests broke out in Taiwan, including students taking over the state’s legislative building, over a controversial proposed trade deal with China in 2014.
Meanwhile, Ma’s party is struggling ahead of January’s presidential election.
Party leaders overwhelmingly voted to change its candidate last month after polls showed it trailing badly to the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which traditionally has maintained Taiwan’s political independence from Beijing.
Ma can’t run due to term limits.