Taiwanese official Wang Yu-chi (L) who is in charge of the islands China policy shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun from the Taiwan Affairs office (R) at the start of their meeting in Nanjing on February 11, 2014. PHOTO: AFP

China and Taiwan on Tuesday held their first government-to-government talks since they split 65 years ago after a brutal civil war – a symbolic yet historic move between the former bitter rivals.