their split in 1949. During the historic meeting,... ... the two

sides are expected to renew their political and economic ties.

Kim Ji-yeon reports. China and Taiwan are about to begin their highest-level talks in

more than six decades. Zhang Zhijun , the head of China's Taiwan

Affairs Office, and his Taiwanese counterpart, Wang Yu-Chi , are to meet in China's eastern

city of Nanjing on Tuesday afternoon. The two sides are likely to discuss ways to

pursue economic reconciliation... and Beijing may push for passage of a stalled free trade

agreement with Taiwan. Many expect the meeting could become the basis

for a future summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping his Taiwanese counterpart Ma Ying-jeou,...

possibly around the time of this year's APEC summit in Beijing in October.

China and Taiwan split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has said repeatedly that it will reclaim

the island,... while Taiwan wants to be seen as an independent country, though it claims

the same territory as China. The conflict has created a decades-long military

standoff between the U.S. and China, as the U.S. is committed to defending the democracy-based

Taipei against communist Beijing. Ties between China and Taiwan improved radically...

after Taiwan's pro-Beijing President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008.

Since then, tourists from mainland China have boosted Taiwan's economy and Taiwanese technology

firms have expanded in the mainland, their investments worth billions of dollars.

But there is also speculation that the friendly terms will not last... since President Ma

and his pro-Beijing policy is deeply unpopular among the Taiwanese people.

Analysts say Ma's Kuomintang party is likely to lose local elections slated for later in

the year. Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.