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China, Taiwan hold highest-level talks since split

By Christopher Bodeen
Published February 11, 2014 12:02pm ET
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China, Taiwan hold highest-level talks since split
Wang Yu-chi, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, left, and Zhang Zhijun, director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, right, shake hands and pose for photos before their meeting in Nanjing, in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Taiwan and China are holding their highest-level talks since splitting amid a civil war 65 years ago, hoping to further boost contacts and ease lingering tensions, even as political developments on the self-governing island swing away from Beijing's goal of eventual unification. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan) | Alexander F. Yuan

NANJING, China (AP) — China and Taiwan hailed a new chapter in their relations on Tuesday and said their ties would advance after they held their highest-level government talks since they split amid civil war in 1949.

The two-hour discussions in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing marked a leap forward in official dialogue, sidestepping Beijing’s refusal to recognize the self-governing island’s sovereignty. No formal agreements were signed, with both sides saying just the fact that they could meet as equals marked a major step forward.

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