The New York Times reports that President Xi Jinping of China met with President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan on Saturday in the first-ever encounter between leaders of the neighbors and longtime rivals, an act both sides described as a breakthrough gesture meant to promote peace and mutual prosperity. Mr. Xi and Mr. Ma began their brief talks with a handshake that went on for more than a minute, with both men smiling broadly and turning side to side so the hundreds of reporters in the meeting room at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore could document the moment. The meeting is a high point in the two leaders' efforts to bridge the divisions of civil war and decades of animosity.

The Wall Street Journal says that China's exports fell in October for the fourth consecutive month, as a once-powerful engine of the country's growth continued to sputter in the face of weak global demand. The world's appetite for goods from China - the world's second-largest economy accounts for nearly one-fifth of global factory exports—has been lower than expected this year. Meanwhile, weak domestic demand continues to reduce imports. Both are contributing to China's growth slowdown.

The New York Times in its Sunday edition runs a feature story about an emerging Chinese industry - winemaking, and its new star Emma Gao, whose family-run winery Silver Heights in Ningxia has begun to win international acclaim through introduction of western winemaking techniques.  Ningxia near the Gobi Desert is quietly turning into the Napa Valley of China.