Leaders of Taiwan, China to meet for first time in 66 years

Ma Ying-jeou.
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou, will meet for a historic summit in Singapore Saturday, their governments announced Wednesday.

Leaders from the two sides have not met since 1949, when the Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war to the Communists, and the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan, The Associated Press reports. A Taiwanese presidential spokesman said in a statement that Xi and Ma will not sign any deals, and the symbolic meeting will "solidify Taiwan-mainland relations and keep the status quo across the Taiwan Strait." Taiwan will elect a new president and legislature in January, which could change the course of Ma's pro-China initiatives, AP says.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.