Leaders of political rivals Taiwan and China have met for the first time in more than 60 years.
The talks between China President Xi Jinping and Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, the first such meeting since China's civil war ended in 1949, were held at a luxury hotel in the neutral venue of Singapore.
They come amid rising anti-Chinese sentiment on the self-ruled democratic island, weeks ahead of elections there.
Both men shook hands and smiled in front of a mass of journalists before beginning the meeting.
Moving into a meeting room, Mr Xi, speaking first and sitting opposite Mr Ma, said Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait had the ability and wisdom to solve their own problems.
"No force can pull us apart," Mr Xi said. "We are one family."
In response, Mr Ma said he was determined to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait and that relations should be based on sincerity, wisdom and patience.
Mr Ma also asked Mr Xi indirectly to respect Taiwan's democracy.
"Both sides should respect each other's values and way of life," he said.
China's Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Communists, who are still in charge in Beijing.
The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring what it considers a breakaway province under its control.
The meeting comes ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on Taiwan which the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party is favoured to win, something Beijing is desperate to avoid.
While bilateral trade, investment and tourism have blossomed, particularly since Mr Ma and his KMT took power in 2008, there is deep suspicion on both sides and no progress has been made on any sort of political settlement.
No agreements are expected in what is seen as a highly symbolic get-together in Singapore, a largely ethnic Chinese city-state that has maintained good ties with both for decades.
Protocol problems loom large for democratic Taiwan and autocratic China.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the two men would address each other as "mister", presumably to avoid calling each other "president", as neither officially recognises the other as head of state.
Further underscoring the sensitivities in China, state television only showed Mr Xi's comments live, cutting away when Mr Ma began to speak, prompting a flurry of complaints on Chinese social media about censorship.
The United States has welcomed the meeting, according to State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
"The United States has a deep and abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we encourage further progress by both sides toward building ties, reducing tensions, and promoting stability on the basis of dignity and respect," he said.
