Beijing using historic Taiwan meet as decoy: analysts

BEIJING: China is casting itself as the peacemaker in this weekend’s historic summit with Taiwan, but experts say it is at least partly aiming to draw attention away from its aggressive expansionism in the South China Sea.

Cross-strait relations have improved dramatically since Ma Ying-jeou’s election as Taiwan’s president in 2008, with the launch of direct flights, trade deals and a tourism boom that have smoothed ties between the once bitter rivals.