Event a test for official dialogue between mainland and Taiwan

Scholars and former government officials from the mainland and Taiwan gathered in Shanghai on Friday to discuss political and security issues, a move seen as the first test for an official political dialogue across the Straits.

The forum, the first Cross-Straits Peace Forum, came a few days after President Xi Jinping called for a resolution to political disagreements across the Straits based on equal consultations during his meeting with Taiwan politician Vincent Siew ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering.