By Jason Subler
BOAO, China (Reuters) - Taiwan's vice president-elect andChina's commerce minister held talks on economic cooperation onSunday, underlining the potential benefits of closer ties aftera landmark meeting a day earlier.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Taiwan Vice President-electVincent Siew shook hands and talked one-on-one for about 20minutes on Saturday, in what many analysts saw as abreakthrough that could thaw their icy relations and pave theway for closer trade and transit links.
Siew, who attended the meeting in a private capacity, metChinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming on Sunday. Each led adelegation of industrialists, academics and officials todiscuss details of how to step up cooperation.
They first met behind closed doors and then held anhour-long seminar, with executives from technology, shippingand other companies from both sides swapping views on thespecific market opening and cooperation they hoped to see intheir fields.
The meetings were held on the sidelines of the April 11-13Boao Forum for Asia held on the southern Chinese islandprovince of Hainan.
China's Chen called normalising trade and economic tiesbetween the two sides an urgent matter.
"This urgency results especially from the current globaluncertainties that we both face," Chen said, pointing to theeconomic slowdown in the United States and other Westerncountries as well as soaring prices for natural resources.
"In such times, when we see such a good chance to bring ourtwo sides' economic and trade ties forward towardsnormalisation, ... by working together, we can reduce thenegative impact on us from the slowing of growth in Westerncountries," he said.
"SOONER THE BETTER" ON FLIGHTS
Siew noted the benefit to China's growth that increasedcooperation with Taiwan could bring, as its firms bring greaterinnovation to Chinese manufacturing and other sectors.
"We hope the new Taiwan government's economic policy willbring both sides new business opportunities," Siew said.
The meetings came after Siew and Taiwan's President-elect,Ma Ying-Jeou of the Nationalist party, won elections lastmonth, promising to work for closer relations with China,including more direct flights, more Chinese tourists,normalised trade ties and the resumption of negotiationmechanisms.
China, which has about 170 allies including the world'smost powerful nations, has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as itsterritory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 andpledged to bring the island under its rule, by force ifnecessary.
Political differences have effectively barred high-levelcontact between the two sides for the past six decades, butTaiwan's economy depends increasingly on China.
While no specific deals were signed on Sunday, both sidesindicated that they were moving forward on those links. Astatement by the Chinese side said it was open to setting up anegotiating mechanism, under the "one-China" principle.
Asked about when direct flights might happen, Chen toldreporters "the sooner the better", adding that they werecurrently not able to start for technical business reasons.
Direct flights are banned, except during holiday seasons,for security reasons, usually forcing layovers in Hong Kong orMacau. Chinese tourists seldom enter Taiwan due to the island'sfear of security breaches and overstays.
Siew and President-elect Ma will take office on May 20.
(Reporting by Jason Subler; Additional reporting by RalphJennings in Taipei; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
