Summary Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House on Tuesday gave a cautious welcome to plans for the leaders of Taiwan and China to meet for the first time in more than half a century.
"We would certainly welcome steps that are taken on both sides of the Taiwan strait to try and reduce tensions and improve cross-strait relations," said spokesman Josh Earnest.
"But we will have to see what actually comes out of the meeting."
Taiwan s President Ma Ying-jeou will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday, Ma s office said, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the two rivals since they split at the end of a civil war in 1949.
Beijing still considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Earnest reiterated that Washington s "One China" policy has not changed.
The White House has long opposed any military moves toward reunification and has laid its hand on the scales to ensure a military balance between Taiwan and its giant neighbor.
The Xi-Ma meeting comes ahead of January elections in Taiwan.
Ma s relatively Beijing-friendly Kuomintang is widely expected to lose to the more China-skeptic Democratic Progressive Party.
