Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi will replace Chen Yunlin as head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, or cabinet, two sources close to the Chinese government told Reuters. Both requested anonymity.

A third source said Chen would become chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), a government-run body for negotiating with the island, which Beijing has said must accept unification, by force if necessary.

A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office neither confirmed or denied Wang’s appointment when asked at a Friday news conference to comment. Wang, 54, who was also a vice foreign minister before his 2004-2007 ambassadorship, helped oversee warming ties between China and Japan after years of strains.

Chinese President Hu Jintao appears to be hoping for a similar easing with Taiwan.

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