China's top negotiator with Taiwan says he will discuss only economic and not political issues when he visits the island next week.
Chen Yunlin will lead a 60-member delegation of Chinese bankers and businessmen on his five-day visit to Taiwan.
He told reporters Thursday that talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, will focus on trade, shipping, food safety, postal services and ways to cope with the global economic crisis.
In a televised interview (broadcast Wednesday), Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou said he will meet the delegation in his official capacity as the island's president.
Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing claims the self-ruled island is part of its own territory.
The two sides do not have formal ties, but communicate with one another through semi-official agencies.
Chen Yunlin heads China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, while Chiang Pin-kung is the head of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation.
Chiang visited Beijing in June paving the way for next week's talks.
Earlier this month, Taiwanese pro-independence protesters attacked another Chinese envoy who was visiting the island to attend an academic seminar.