(dpa) - Chinese President Hu Jintao met Taiwan's vice president-elect Vincent Siew on Saturday for landmark talks that were expected to set the tone for future Taipei-Beijing ties.
The 20-minute meeting was "very frank, friendly and achieved results", Siew said in a brief statement after the talks on southern island resort of Hainan.
Taipei's position was that the two sides should "face reality, envision the future and put aside differences", Siew said.
Hu said that promoting cross-Strait trade ties needed cooperation from both sides. He called Siew an expert in economics and asked to hear his views on this issue.
Siew said Taiwan's economy was dependent on Asia and the whole world, so it was important for Taiwan and China to seek economic cooperation.
The Hu-Siew meeting is the highest-ranking contact between Taiwan and Chinese officials since Taiwan and China split at the end of the Chiense Civil War in 1949.
Siew led a delegation to Hainan to attend the Bo'ao Forum for Asia, which is modelled on the World Economic Forum held every year in Davos, Switzerland.