Xi,Ma to shake hands in historic meeting: mainland official

Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou will shake hands in their historic meeting scheduled on Saturday in Singapore, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said Wednesday.

The meeting will comprise two stages with one stage open to media and another behind closed doors, said Zhang Zhijun, who is also head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, when interviewed at the ongoing Zijinshan Summit for Entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait.

According to Zhang, the two leaders across the Taiwan Strait will exchange views over important issues during the closed-door meeting.

After the meeting, press conferences will be held by the both sides of the Strait. Later, the two leaders are expected to attend a dinner, said Zhang.

Zhang said the meeting will lift cross-Strait communication to a new high and create new space for ties.

The scheduled meeting between Xi and Ma will mark a breakthrough in face-to-face exchange and communication between the two leaders across the Taiwan Strait after hardships and twists since 1949. Endi