Former Vice President Vincent Siew has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing.
Siew is attending the APEC summit on behalf of President Ma Ying-jeou. Taiwan’s president is barred from attending the annual gathering of regional leaders because of opposition from China. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, even though the two sides have been ruled separately for more than 60 years.
On Sunday Siew and Xi met at the Great Hall of the People. During the meeting, Xi said some achievements have been seen over the past year in the development of ties between China and Taiwan. But he added that there were also some “new problems”. Xi urged Taiwan to work with China to develop what he called “long-term and healthy” cross-strait relations.
Siew said Taiwan and China should work together to join regional economic integration projects. He also said the two sides should uphold the so-called 1992 Consensus. According to the 1992 Consensus, both Taiwan and China agree that there is only "one China," and both Mainland China and Taiwan are a part of it. But the two sides differ on what the "one China" means. Taipei says it means the Republic of China on Taiwan, while Beijing says it means the People's Republic of China.