Xi Jinping meets Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing
Former Kuomintang leader Ma Ying-jeou met President Xi Jinping, in his capacity as general secretary of the Communist Party, in Beijing on Wednesday, according to Xinhua News Agency. Xi praised Ma for supporting the one-China principle and the 1992 consensus governing cross-strait relations, and his opposition to "Taiwan independence". Ma, for his part, said people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should avoid conflict or confrontation. The pair last met in Singapore in November 2015. Ma, a former Taiwan leader, is on an 11-day visit to the mainland, his second in as many years. Earlier on Wednesday, a spokeswoman of the Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, praised Ma's efforts in promoting cross-strait youth exchanges. She also stressed the need for the peaceful development of ties across the Taiwan Strait.