Xi-Ma meeting through the eyes of common people

Related: Historic handshake

Xi calls for preventing repeat of historical tragedy in cross-Straits ties; Ma stresses firm stance on one-China principle

Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou share a point at their meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

The hands of top leaders across the Taiwan Straits traveled more than six decades to reach a minutelong grip on Saturday, setting the stage for deeper integration based on the one-China principle.

Divided by the sea and decades of opposition, leaders of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan - Xi Jinping and Ma Yingjeou - met in Singapore, for the first time since 1949.

At 3 pm in Singapore's Shangri-La Hotel, Xi and Ma walked from two sides of a ballroom toward one another and shook hands.

Amid photo requests from hundreds of reporters, the leaders turned slightly toward the cameras to help them get the perfect angle.

Their handshake, which had seemed impossible for decades, kept up for more than aminute, marking a new era in ties of the two sides that had long been set apart.

One-China principle

In the hour-long, closed-door meeting that followed the handshake, the leaders reiterated their support for the 1992 Consensus, an agreement reached between representatives from both sides in 1992 that recognizes only oneChina.

"Today will be remembered in history," Xi said in the opening remarks at the meeting.

"We are faced with a choice in the direction and path of cross-Straits ties.