By Li Hongmei

The upcoming meeting between the Chinese mainland's and Taiwan's respective cross-strait policymakers will mark the beginning of unprecedented contact between the two sides, an expert in international relations said Friday.

Wang Yu-chi, chief of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, will reportedly visit the mainland on Feb. 11-14, where he may meet with his mainland counterpart Zhang Zhijun, Minister of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council - a meeting that will open new opportunities for mutual trust, according to Vincent Wang, a political science professor at the University of Richmond in the United States.

This will be the first formal meeting between the two chiefs, who met informally at last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Indonesia.

"It is not likely for the two sides to resolve all their problems after just one meeting," said Vincent Wang. "But at least they can use the meeting to raise issues of concern, which will be helpful to their future relations."