LIMA, PERU - Chinese President Hu Jintao met here Friday with a senior Taiwan envoy in the highest-level meeting to take place overseas between the rivals since their split in 1949.

Taiwan's former premier Lien Chan, who is honorary chairman of the island's ruling Kuomintang party, met with Hu for about 40 minutes at a hotel in Lima, Peru, where leaders are meeting for an Asia-Pacific summit.

Officials in Taiwan's summit delegation called it the highest-level meeting in an international setting since 1949, when the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan after losing China's civil war to the communists.

China has historically opposed any hint of international recognition of democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Friday's chat at the mainland Chinese delegation's hotel was the latest step forward for the two Cold War rivals, whose relations have improved dramatically this year.

Taiwan in March elected Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou, ending two decades of rule in Taipei by leaders who rattled China with their support for a separate identity for the democratic island.

Ma earlier this month became Taiwan's first president to meet with a senior Chinese official, who signed four deals that will see the two sides cooperating in air travel, post and cargo shipping.

But the official's visit to Taipei also triggered mass demonstrations by tens of thousands of anti-Beijing protesters.

Lien, a strong supporter of reconciliation with Beijing, is representing Taiwan at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a 21-member group representing half of global trade.

Taiwan has traditionally sent business leaders or prominent citizens as representatives to international fora to avoid rankling China. A former premier in the 1990s, Lien is easily the most prominent sent so far.

Lien said his closed-door talk with Hu touched on regional issues facing the APEC meeting opening on Saturday, offering few details when asked.

Officials in Beijing's delegation made no immediate comment.

However, Lien stressed the historic significance of this year's rapprochement between the sides, saying its benefits would extend beyond the borders of either side.

"This will be beneficial to the peoples of both sides, the Asia-Pacific region and the entire world," Lien said.

Following Ma's election, top officials from both sides met in Beijing in June for the first direct dialogue between the two sides in 10 years.

Those talks led to the launch of regular direct flights between China and the island, and measures to boost tourism.

The two sides split in 1949 after a civil war that saw Mao Zedong's Communists seize power, banishing the Chinese Nationalists to Taiwan.

A survey of Asian opinion leaders conducted for the APEC summit showed the region's fears of a conflict between China and Taiwan have ebbed dramatically since Ma's election. --AFP