China, Taiwan governments meet for first time since 1949 split

China and Taiwan held official government talks for the first time since splitting in 1949, discussing ways to forge closer economic ties, officials said. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan also agreed to regular communication between their cross-strait affairs departments, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Tuesday discussions in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing also were an effort to reduce tensions over the issue of eventual re-unification between the island and the mainland, the Washington Post said. Previous negotiations on cross-strait relations had been conducted by quasi-official representatives, not government officials. The two sides agreed to promote cross-strait relations, Xinhua said. The governments said they expected to see improvements in discussions, understanding and mutual trust, as well as better handling of cross-strait issues, a statement by the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said.