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BOAO, China : Taiwan's vice president-elect said Friday he hoped to "melt the ice" with China in an historic encounter with Chinese President Hu Jintao expected here following decades of animosity.
Flashing his trademark smile, Vincent Siew arrived at the Boao resort, on the east coast of the tropical Chinese island of Hainan, where he was scheduled to meet for 20 minutes with Hu on Saturday as part of the Taiwanese delegation.
"I hope that through this meeting we can deepen the understanding between the two sides and also create a basis for common trust," Siew told reporters.
"It's also my hope that through this meeting we can help melt the ice, so I call this an 'ice-melting' trip."
Wang Yu-chi, Siew's spokesman, told journalists the meeting would take place Saturday when Hu would meet the entire Taiwan delegation to the Boao Forum for Asia, a regional gathering.
There was no immediate talk of a one-on-one encounter, and officials in Siew's delegation late Friday ruled out it might take place.
"It's never been discussed to have a one-on-one meeting," said Su Chi, a delegation member.
The much-anticipated meeting with Hu has been described as the highest-level direct contact between Beijing and Taipei since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949.
"This is historic. This is arguably the highest-level meeting ever between the two sides, although Siew has yet to take up office," said Joseph Cheng, a China watcher at City University of Hong Kong.
The United States welcomed the upcoming encounter.
"We think that dialogue between the People's Republic of China and the authorities, leaders on Taiwan (island) is the best way forward," Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told reporters in Washington.
The Boao Forum for Asia is an annual gathering that China aims to eventually make a regional version of the meetings in Davos, Switzerland.
Before leaving Taiwan, Siew told reporters he planned to use the forum to introduce a new blueprint for the island's future economic development "in the hope that Taiwan's economy can connect with the world."
"We will also make more friends and exchange our views with others," he said.
Symbolic of the continued tense atmosphere between Taiwan and China, Siew could not fly directly to the mainland, but had to transit in Hong Kong.
Although Taiwan has ruled itself since the split from China nearly six decades ago, Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island.
Siew is a veteran of the Boao Forum in Hainan, having attended five times in a private capacity as chairman of a non-profit organisation, and has met Hu there in the past.
However any meeting now takes on much greater significance, since Siew was Ma Ying-jeou's running mate when the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang candidate won Taiwan's presidential election last month.
Ma has vowed to improve relations with China, increase trade, tourism and transport links, and work on a peace treaty to end hostilities.
Political relations between China and Taiwan deteriorated during the past eight years that the island has been ruled by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
"We need to melt the ice away and slowly start moving forward. We have to start making friends again," said Su, the member of Siew's delegation.
Economically, China has become Taiwan's number one export market and its biggest trading partner. Two-way trade last year reached a record 102 billion US dollars.
Analysts say any meeting with Hu would likely help smooth political tensions that have hamstrung relations despite the ever closer economic links tying the island to China.
This has become even more urgent after recent remarks by Ma that have been interpreted as hawkish with regards to Beijing.
In a report carried by the Financial Times earlier this week, Ma cautioned against rapid rapprochement with China, despite hopes from supporters of swift moves to improve cross-Strait ties.
He said he would not personally engage in dialogue with Chinese leaders because such a move would be too controversial in Taiwan.
"Ma Ying-jeou wants to maintain flexibility and room for manoeuvre for economic negotiation," said City University's Cheng.
"He wants to show that he can talk with Beijing and ensure economic benefits for Taiwan."
- AFP /ls
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