Taiwan says Ma Ying-jeou would like to meet Xi Jinping at Apec
Beijing summit would be ideal chance for two sides to come together, Taipei official says
Taiwan’s minister in charge of China affairs on Wednesday said he would support a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou, suggesting the Apec leaders summit as an ideal opportunity.
Wang Yu-chi, chairman of the island’s top China policy decision-making body Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), made the comments ahead of his historic trip to China next week – the first official contact between the two former bitter rivals in more than six decades.
I won’t raise the proposal for a meeting between President Ma and Xi, but if they did (meet), we think the Apec leaders summit would be the best venue
In a further sign of fast-warming ties between Taipei and Beijing, Wang told reporters: “We’d be pleased to see leaders from the two sides meet at a proper time and venue.”
“I won’t raise the proposal for a meeting between President Ma and Xi, but if they did (meet), we think the Apec leaders summit would be the best venue,” Wang said at a Taipei meeting for Taiwanese firms doing business in China.
The event this year will take place in Beijing this October.
Although Wang has guaranteed he will not discuss “any sensitive issues” with Zhang, observers say they are watching to see if the trip could pave way for a meeting between Ma and Xi.
Relations have improved significantly since Ma of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008. He was re-elected in January 2012.