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WASHINGTON - The United States said Tuesday it looked forward to working with Taiwan's new president Ma Ying-jeou and hoped he would launch initiatives to reduce tension with China.
"We congratulate Ma Ying-jeou on his inauguration," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
"We look forward to working with Taiwan's new leaders and maintaining the vibrancy of our economic and people-to-people relationship," he said.
"We welcome initiatives to reduce tension in the Taiwan Strait," he added.
"As President (George) Bush said after the March vote, 'the election provides a fresh opportunity for both sides to reach out and engage one another in peacefully resolving their differences,'" he said.
Taiwan's new president Ma Ying-jeou took the oath of office Tuesday and called for a resumption of high-level dialogue with China, underlining his top priority for his first four years in power.
In his inauguration address, Ma said both sides should "reconcile and cease fire" to mend their fragile relations and bolster regional stability.
The Harvard-educated former mayor of Taipei succeeds Chen Shui-bian, whose pro-independence rhetoric during eight years in power irked not only Beijing but also the United States for the way it spiked regional tensions.
- AFP /ls
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