CHINESE President Xi Jinping urged both sides of the Taiwan Strait not to squander the hard- fought progress made in cross- strait ties as he offered “equal talks” to resolve political differences under the “one China” policy.

Mr Xi made the remarks during talks yesterday with visiting Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Eric Chu, whom he met in his capacity as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was the first high-level meeting between both parties in six years.

He also called for building a framework to protect the peaceful development of ties.

“Both parties should uphold the correct view of cross-strait ties and be against any actions that will damage the political foundations of these ties. We must not lose the fruits we have gained… which have not come easy,” Mr Xi said.

… “Mr Xi wants to imply that he sees the KMT as equals in the political sphere so they don’t have concerns about continuing to interact with the CCP,” said analyst Li Mingjiang of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“But in reality, it’s impossible. The Taiwanese leaders know that whether party-to-party or in terms of China-Taiwan relations, the interactions are not equal.”