( CNN ) -- Taiwan and China held their highest level talks for more than six decades Tuesday , marking the first government-to-government contact since the pair 's acrimonious split in 1949 . Wang Yu-chi of Taiwan 's Mainland Affairs Council ( MAC ) , which oversees the island 's China policy , met with his mainland Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun , of China 's Taiwan Affairs Office . After the meeting , China 's state news agency Xinhua said the two sides had agreed to open a regular communication channel . `` We should both be resolute to not let cross-strait relations suffer any more twists and turns , and never let it ( the relationship ) go backward , '' Zhang was quoted by Xinhua as saying . Previous contact between the two sides has been conducted through semi-official foundations or through political parties , not by government ministers acting in their official capacities . `` Being able to sit down and talk today was quite unimaginable in the past , '' Xinhua quoted Wang as saying . In a statement , Taiwan 's MAC said that Wang had invited Zhang to visit Taiwan to better understand society and popular sentiment . Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said the visit had `` extraordinary significance , '' according to the island 's Central News Agency . On his departure from Taipei , Wang said the visit would not be `` easy '' and the two sides would not sign any specific agreement . The meeting took place in Nanjing , which was the seat of government under the Kuomintang or Nationalist party before a civil war with the Chinese Communists forced Nationalist forces to flee to Taiwan in 1949 . Ever since , the island and mainland China have been governed separately . The exclusion of two Taiwan reporters from covering the meeting has soured the start of Wang 's historic visit , which is expected to last until Friday . Two journalists from Taiwan 's Apple Daily and Radio Free Asia were excluded from a delegation of more than 80 reporters accompanying Wang , according to Freedom House , a press freedom watchdog . `` The Chinese government 's refusal to grant access to these journalists reflects two important trends -- the Communist Party 's expansion of its tactics for influencing media from Hong Kong to Taiwan , and the government 's use of visa denials as a way to punish overseas news outlets for critical coverage , '' said Sarah Cook , senior research analyst at Freedom House . Taiwan 's Central News Agency said Wang would address protecting the freedom of the press at the meeting . Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has never ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification . Taiwan also calls itself the Republic of China . Relations between the two sides have improved since Ma , of the Kuomintang party , came to power in Taiwan 's 2008 elections . CNN 's Beijing bureau contributed to this report .
NEW Taiwan and China agree to regular meetings . Nanjing meeting marks the first government - to - government contact since the split . Taiwan 's top China policymaker Wang Yu - min will meet counterpart Zhang Zhijun . Group says two Taiwan - based officials have been removed from covering trip .