Taiwanese KMT party envoy to meet China's Xi

An envoy from Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party will meet China's President Xi Jinping, the first official meeting between the two parties since Xi took over as head of the Chinese Communist Party, officials said Monday.

The planned visit comes as Taipei and Beijing are working to exchange liaison offices, seen as a crucial step by Taiwan to normalise ties with its former bitter foe.

Wu Poh-hsiung, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, will meet Xi in Beijing on Thursday, the party said.

In a statement released by his office, President Ma Ying-jeou told Wu that the visit would "review the development of ties across the Taiwan Strait over the past five years" and would also "craft the direction of ties looking ahead".

China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting unification even though the island has ruled itself since the end of a civil war in 1949, when communist forces on the mainland defeated a KMT-led regime.

To avoid any suggestion of recognising Taiwanese self-rule, China's communists prefer to hold meetings at a party-to-party level with KMT elders.

Xi became leader of the Chinese Communist Party in November, and head of state in March.

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing have reduced sharply since the KMT's Ma came to power in 2008 on a platform of beefing up trade and tourism links. Ma was re-elected in January 2012.

The island and its giant neighbour have opened up direct flights and forged 18 agreements covering areas ranging from banking to crime-fighting over the past five years. A historic trade pact was also signed in 2010.

In a radio interview in April, the head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said exchanging offices would top the agenda in the next two years. Wang Yu-chi said he was optimistic the offices could open before the end of 2014.