BEIJING — President Xi Jinping of China, and the leader of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, will meet on Saturday in Singapore, the first such meeting since the Chinese Communist revolution of 1949 and the retreat of the Chinese nationalists across the Taiwan Strait.
The office in charge of Taiwan relations in Beijing said in a brief statement that the two leaders would exchange views on promoting developments during a long scheduled two-day visit of Mr. Xi to Singapore, a country that has good relations with both sides.
The director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Zhang Zhijun, said the meeting had been arranged “given the situation of the irresolution of cross-strait political differences.”
A spokesman for Mr. Ma, whose Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, is floundering at the polls before elections early next year, announced the meeting late Tuesday night. Mr. Ma’s spokesman, Charles Chen, said that no agreements were envisioned. The meeting with Mr. Ma fits with the bold style of Mr. Xi, who has shown that he likes to take more risks in foreign policy than his predecessors.
He has sought strong connections with Britain and the Continent as a counterweight to the United States, and met with Myanmar’s opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, even though China has traditionally supported the military in Myanmar. Mr. Xi will be arriving in Singapore from a visit to Vietnam, a country ruled by a Communist Party but that has had testy relations with China.
The encounter with Mr. Ma comes after Mr. Xi has pushed China’s regional aspirations to the fore by building artificial islands in the South China Sea and, soon after becoming president, taking a strong anti-Japan stance. The gesture toward Mr. Ma shows a more conciliatory side, one that may not help to pull off a victory for the Kuomintang, which favors closer ties to China, but nonetheless, could be interpreted as not particularly threatening.
The gesture could also produce a backlash, prompting more Taiwanese voters to support the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which has held a commanding lead in the polls over the past year. Yet even if the Kuomintang does not win the January elections, the meeting could set the groundwork for changes that suit China in the long run, according to Wang Yangjin, a professor of political science at Renmin University of China in Beijing, who specializes in Taiwan-China relations.
“There are very good economic relations between China and Taiwan, but we cannot expect any breakthrough on politics,” said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University. “If they had met two years ago it would have been quite important politically, but now I don’t think this can produce any substantial political impact.”
Despite the improved ties in recent years, the Chinese government continues to adhere to its long-held policy that Taiwan is a breakaway province and that unification is inevitable — by force if necessary. The leaders of the two sides have not met since the Kuomintang forces of Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland after losing an epic civil war to Mao Zedong’s triumphant Communist Party in the 1940s.
Once established on Taiwan, an island that had been under Japanese control until 1945, the Kuomintang maintained itself as the Republic of China and vowed to reconquer the mainland, but its policies toward Beijing have evolved considerably since then.
Last year, representatives of Taiwan and China met officially for the first time since the revolution. The meeting, held in the Chinese city of Nanjing, produced no major breakthroughs but was seen as the result of Mr. Ma’s efforts to forge closer ties.
Trade has more than doubled over Mr. Ma’s presidency, and Taiwan eased restrictions on travelers from China, who have visited the island in large numbers.
Before last year, representatives of the two sides had previously only met through semiofficial organizations.
On Tuesday evening, the White House welcomed word of the meeting but reserved judgment on its broader meaning.
“We would certainly welcome steps that are taken on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to try to reduce tensions and improve cross-strait relations,” said the White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “We’ll have to see what actually comes out of the meeting.”
Many in Taiwan remain wary of China’s ultimate intentions. Student protesters took over Taiwan’s legislature for nearly a month last year to force reconsideration of a trade in services agreement with China. In local elections last year, the Kuomintang suffered sharp losses, partly over the party’s China policy.
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