China's President Hu Jintao will meet with a senior Taiwanese politician here on Saturday, both sides said, expressing hopes the rare talks would see progress towards a trade agreement.
China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming confirmed the meeting between Hu and Taiwan delegate Lien Chan would take place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore.
"I believe tomorrow's meeting will be a productive one," he told a media briefing Friday, when asked whether he expected it to yield a breakthrough on the trade talks.
Lien said earlier he hoped the two sides could sign a proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) "as soon as possible."
"We anticipate that we'll have a chance to seek (Hu's) views on these essentially important issues," he said of the meeting with the Chinese premier.
"We hope to complete the whole process by next year," said Lien, who served as the self-ruled island's vice president from 1996 to 2000.
"I don't anticipate any insurmountable obstacle in this regard."
APEC's full summit including Hu, US President Barack Obama and 19 other Pacific Rim leaders will be held on the weekend.
Hu and Lien, the honorary chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, met one-on-one at last year's APEC gathering in Peru amid a warming in ties brought about the 2008 election of China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou.
It marked the highest-level overseas meeting between the former rivals since their split in 1949 after a civil war.
The economic agreement is seen as bringing the two sides closer to normalising and systemising their economic relations.
Taiwanese presidents are barred from APEC summits due to objections from China, which regards the island as part of its territory, and are usually represented by senior economic advisers or business leaders.
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