Taipei  - Nearly 1,000 Taiwanese, Chinese and foreign reporters have applied to cover the upcoming Taiwan-China dialogue - their most important contact in half a century - in Taipei, the Central News Agency (CNA) said Saturday.

Some 800 Taiwan reporters and 200 Chinese and foreign reporters have applied to cover the dialogue to be held in Taipei next week, CNA quoted the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which is in charge of ties with China, as saying.

As the conference hall at the Taipei Grand Hotel cannot hold so many reporters, the MAC must cut down on the number of reporters allowed to cover the dialogue, an unnamed MAC official told CNA.

The four-day talks will last from November 3 till November 6 at the Grand Hotel. A 74-member Chinese delegation and Taiwan officials are expected to discuss expanding bilateral ties.

The highlight will be on Tuesday when China's negotiator Chen Yunlin and Taiwan's negotiator Chiang Ping-kun will hold talks in the morning and sign four pacts in the afternoon.

The four pacts will cover opening direct sea links, direct postal service, expansion of weekend charter flights and the safety of Chinese food export to Taiwan.

As the Chen-Chiang meeting and their signing the four agreements carry historical significance, their handshake and exchanging copies of the pacts will be the focus of world media attention on that day.

China and Taiwan have been technically at war with each other since being split at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

Chen's arrival will mark a milestone in Taipei-Beijing ties as he will be the highest-level Chinese official to visit Taiwan since 1949. (dpa)