Visits hailed as 'important step' in fostering mutual understanding

The two heads in charge of cross-Straits affairs from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are set to meet next month during a visit to the mainland by Wang Yu-chi, who would become Taiwan's first sitting affairs chief to visit.

Wang plans to lead a delegation to Nanjing and Shanghai from Feb 11 to 14, a mainland spokesman announced on Tuesday.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, will meet Wang during the visit and the two will exchange views on relations across the Taiwan Straits, said office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang.

The two chiefs spoke briefly in October during the APEC meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

Ma hailed the coming visit as "an important move" to promote development of cross-Straits relations under the 1992 consensus for deepening trust.

"We hope and believe that this important step on both sides of the Straits will be conducive to communication and understanding as well as to the fostering of future ties," he said.

The upcoming visit marks the beginning of a series of visits between the chiefs of cross-Straits affairs from both sides, and signifies further institutionalization of relations, Wang said at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.

Zhang said earlier that he expected to visit Taiwan this year.

Li Jiaquan, a senior member of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Taipei's attitude toward the mainland is prone to be influenced by external forces, but both sides are willing to move things forward.

According to Reuters, Wang said the two sides will discuss setting up representative offices in both places, as well as Taiwan's participation in international bodies. They will also address questions of medical care for students from Taiwan who are studying on the mainland.

Wang added that he feels a great responsibility as there is a long way to go.

Wang Hailiang, a researcher from the Shanghai-based Taiwan Research Institute, said he finds the upcoming visit "encouraging" and would like to see breakthroughs during the visit on some of the matters mentioned by Taiwan.

"Cross-Straits issues may become more difficult to resolve in the future. So moves like establishing representative offices and regular communication mechanisms will help bodies directly in charge to handle matters more efficiently," he said.

"Although nothing can be solved overnight, pragmatic steps enhance mutual trust. This is a kind of tacit agreement."

Cross-Straits relations have improved greatly in recent years. In June 2010, the two sides signed the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement cementing the mainland's position as Taiwan's largest trading partner.

Trade in the first nine months of 2013 amounted to $149.21 billion, up 23.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Wang, the Taiwan official, said he hopes cross-Straits relations will continue their peaceful and steady development in the new year because that is in line with the interests of people on both sides.

Wang, with a delegation of more than 20 people, will visit Dr Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum in Nanjing, deliver speeches at Nanjing University, and visit broadcast media in Shanghai, according to the agenda.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn