China and Taiwan presidents meet for first time

China's president Xi Jinping told Taiwan's leader at a historic first meeting between leaders of the two sides that the biggest threat to the development of peaceful relations between them is the pro-independence forces in Taiwan, according to Zhang Zhijun, head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Ma Ying-jeou, president of self-ruled, democratic Taiwan, where anti-Beijing sentiment has been rising ahead of elections, called for mutual respect for each other's systems. He said Taiwan wanted China to use peaceful means to resolve issues.

The meeting on Saturday was the first between leaders of the two sides since China's civil war ended in 1949. Held at a luxury hotel in the neutral venue of Singapore, the talks lasted less than an hour but were heavy with symbolism.

The two leaders shook hands and smiled in front of a mass of journalists when they met, with Xi wearing a red tie, the color of the Communist Party, and Ma a blue one, the colour of his Nationalist Party.

Moving into a meeting room, Xi, speaking first and sitting opposite Ma, said Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait had the ability and wisdom to solve their own problems.

"No force can pull us apart because we are brothers who are still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken, we are a family in which blood is thicker than water," Xi said.

In response, Ma said he was determined to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait and that relations should be based on sincerity, wisdom and patience.

Ma also asked Xi indirectly to respect Taiwan's democracy.

"Both sides should respect each other's values and way of life to ensure mutual benefit and a win-win situation across the straits," he said.

China's Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are still in charge in Beijing.

The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring what it considers a breakaway province under its control.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ma said he hoped Xi could pay attention to China's missile deployment — Taiwan has long fretted about batteries pointed its way — to which Xi replied that was not an issue about Taiwan, he said.

"I at least raised the issue, and told him that the Taiwanese people have questions and concerns about it, and hope he will treat it with importance," Ma said.

Zhang Zhijun, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Xi told Ma that the biggest threat to the peaceful development of relations was pro-independence forces.

"The compatriots on both sides should unite and firmly oppose it," Zhang said.

The meeting comes ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on Taiwan which the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is favored to win, something Beijing is desperate to avoid.

While bilateral trade, investment and tourism have blossomed — particularly since Ma and his KMT took power in 2008 - there is deep suspicion on both sides and no progress has been made on any sort of political settlement.

No agreements had been expected in what was seen as a highly symbolic get-together in Singapore, a largely ethnic Chinese city-state that has maintained good ties with both for decades.

Protocol problems loomed large for democratic Taiwan and autocratic China and the two addressed each other as "mister" to avoid using the word "president", as neither officially recognizes the other as head of state.

Further underscoring China's sensitivities, state television only showed Xi's comments live, cutting away when Ma began to speak, prompting a flurry of complaints on Chinese social media about censorship. It later showed a recording of Ma's opening remarks.

The meeting comes as Xi hopes to cement his place among China's pantheon of great leaders and Ma, stepping down next year due to term limits, tries to shape his legacy marred by growing anti-Beijing feeling in Taiwan.

While China is laudatory, concerns have been raised in Taiwan, and on Saturday about 500 people took to the streets in Taipei to protest against the meeting.

"Though he said he won't sign any agreements there, the Ma-Xi meeting itself shows there will definitely be some discussions or negotiations which have not been approved of by Taiwan's people," said protester Sung Yun-chuan.

DDP leader and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen, in a statement on her Facebook page, said the meeting could only be considered historic if it was able to express respect for Taiwan's democracy and that there should be no preconditions for the peaceful and stable development of ties with China.

"We will wait and see if this can be achieved. I want to again remind President Ma that if he cannot do this then the people of Taiwan will be very disappointed," she said, before the meeting happened.

Ma and Xi will have dinner together before they both fly out of Singapore.

Ma will present Xi bottles of spirits made on two groups of islands just off the mainland that have been occupied by Taiwan forces since the end of the civil war.

He will also present Xi with a ceramic sculpture of a Taiwan blue magpie perched on a leafy green branch as a gift for their first meeting, a bird unique to the island, Taiwan's presidential office said.

Reuters