BEIJING - The Chinese mainland hopes to make breakthroughs this year in setting up ARATS and SEF offices on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said Wednesday.

Yang Yi told reporters at a regular press conference that the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) have concluded two rounds of negotiations on the issue and reached a consensus.

Entrusted with handling cross-Straits affairs, the two organizations have decided to formally list the issue as a negotiation topic and will communicate, said Yang, adding that he hopes the two organizations will make breakthroughs this year.

As for mainland individual tourists visiting Taiwan, Yang said it is appropriate to allow residents in more mainland cities to visit the island as individual travellers. When the time is right, civic groups from both sides will discuss detailed issues on allowing residents of more mainland cities to travel to Taiwan as individual tourists.

On April 1, Taiwan authorities will raise the daily limit of mainland individual tourists visiting the island from 1,000 to 2,000, while the number of daily group tourists will be raised from 4,000 to 5,000.