Timeline of China-Taiwan relations leading to historic meet

File - In this Mar. 24, 1996 file photo, re-elected President Lee Teng-hui, center, is congratulated by his supporters as he roams through some thousands of people gathered for a celebration rally in Taipei, Taiwan. China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but China claims sovereignty over the island and insists the two sides eventually unify. They have in recent years set aside that dispute to build trust and sign economic cooperation deals, and their presidents will meet for the first time Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) File - In this Mar. 24, 1996 file photo, re-elected President Lee Teng-hui, center, is congratulated by his supporters as he roams through some thousands of people gathered for a celebration rally in Taipei, Taiwan. China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but China claims sovereignty over the island and insists the two sides eventually unify. They have in recent years set aside that dispute to build trust and sign economic cooperation deals, and their presidents will meet for the first time Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

By Associated Press November 6, 2015 3 min read

BEIJING (AP) – China and Taiwan have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, but China claims sovereignty over the island and insists the two sides eventually unify. They have in recent years set aside that dispute to build trust and sign economic cooperation deals, and their presidents will meet for the first time Saturday.

A timeline of relations as the two sides have moved gradually over the past 36 years from outright hostility to face-to-face meetings:

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January 1979: Newly emergent Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping announces the concepts of “one country, two systems” and “peaceful unification” to replace outright armed liberation of Taiwan.

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