China's Minister for Taiwan Affairs, Zhang Zhijun, arrived in Taipei on Wednesday - the first visit of a Mainland official to Taiwan in 65 years - to rebuild cross-Strait ties, Xinhua News reported.

Zhang's four-day trip began with a meeting with Taiwan counterpart, Wang Yu Chi, in Taoyuan.

Like Us on Facebook

Both chiefs were optimistic that cross-Strait relations would continue to develop.

"Despite some new circumstances, the direction of peaceful development of cross-Strait ties has not changed and exchanges and cooperation in various fields have not been suspended," Zhang said.

They agreed to push for the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and continue discussions to set up offices of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation on each other's side.

Cross-Strait tourism was also discussed to promote educational, cultural, media and scientific exchanges.

He stressed the importance of building trust, exchange and political basis for the continued stability of relations between the two, mainly through constant communication.

Wang said that cross-Strait exchanges was not easy and acknowledged that differences were set aside to concentrate on the steady progress of peace between the two.

After Zhang's meeting, he focused on exchanges with Taiwan's local citizens, which he said is the main purpose of his trip.

"I know that Taiwan is a society of diversity and it has mixed voices on many issues. That's why I hope to have more contact with locals from all walks of life, especially grassroots people, so as to understand their lives, thoughts and their opinions on cross-Strait relations," he said.

Unfazed by detractors, he has already held talks with the veterans and Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals, and had lunch with senior citizens in the adult care facility in Tucheng district.

He is also scheduled to visit the indigenous community at Wulai district and participate in a roundtable discussion with academicians specializing in cross-Strait relations, Want China Times has learned.

Despite protests against Zhang's visit, some experts are hopeful that through communication, mutual benefits between the two will be found to foster stable and sustainable relations.

"As cross-Strait relations have entered a 'deep-water' stage, it's inevitable that various problems will be encountered. But through face-to-face talks and mutual visits, we can boost efficiency, reduce misunderstanding and keep conflicts under control," said Zhu Weidong of the Taiwan Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

TagsGrassroots exchange, Cross-Strait, Taipei, Zhang Zhijun, Wang Yu-chi