Cross-Strait officials agree to regular communication in China

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan on Tuesday agreed to regular communication between their cross-Strait affairs departments. The arrangement was announced after a meeting between Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (SCTAO), and Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, who arrived in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday morning for a four-day visit. Their meeting was the first between sitting cross-Strait affairs chiefs from the two sides since 1949. The two sides agreed to promote cross-Strait relations on the basis of the "1992 Consensus" and expected the communication mechanism to improve exchanges, understanding and mutual trust, as well as better handle cross-Strait issues, said the SCTAO. The mechanism will not replace talks between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and its Taiwan counterpart the Straits Exchange Foundation, which focus on detailed affairs and cross-Strait agreements, said a statement from the office. Also, it will not change the way how other departments of the two sides contact each other, it added.