Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold a significant meeting with former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday, marking a rare occasion of dialogue between the two sides. Ma, who governed Taiwan from 2008 to 2016 and is currently on an 11-day tour in China, will meet Xi in Beijing, as confirmed by his party Kuomintang (KMT).
This meeting holds historical significance as it is the first time a former president of Taiwan has been hosted by China's top leader in Beijing since 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists relocated to Taipei. The meeting is seen as an attempt to lay a foundation for future cross-strait exchanges and maintain the tone set during their previous talks in Singapore nearly nine years ago.
