Mainland's Taiwan affairs chief to visit Taiwan

The Chinese mainland's chief of Taiwan affairs will visit Taiwan for the first time in late June.

Zhang Zhijun, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, will become the first official to hold the position to visit Taiwan.

He is scheduled to meet his Taiwan counterpart Wang Yu-chi, director of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, and exchange views about cross-Strait relations, a statement from the office said Thursday.

Wang visited the mainland in February and invited Zhang to visit Taiwan.

Zhang is expected to communicate with ordinary people on the island and learn about their ideas and suggestions on cross-Strait relations, the statement said.

The dates and detailed schedule of his visit will be announced later after they are finalized, it said.

During Wang's visit in February, the two held a formal meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, the first between officials of their positions since 1949.