Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, shakes hands with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 25, 2009.(Xinhua/Li Xueren) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin met with Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and his delegation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Monday afternoon.

    Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the cross-Straits relationship had made breakthroughs after a historic turning point in the past year.

    Improved relations had yielded practical benefits for people on both sides, and cross-Straits peace and stability had been highly praised by the international community, said Jia.

    The KMT and the Communist Party of China (CPC) had shouldered greater responsibility in promoting the cross-Straits relationship, said Jia, also member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau.

    At the invitation of CPC Central Committee General Secretary HuJintao, the KMT chairman arrived in Beijing on Monday and will meet Hu on Tuesday to exchange ideas on the cross-Straits relationship.

    Jia said Wu's meeting with Hu would promote political mutual trust.

    Jia proposed that the two sides enhance exchanges and intensify trust to make more practical achievements for the public interest.

    He stressed that interaction and inter-party dialogue would play an irreplaceable role in keeping the development of cross-Straits relations on a peaceful track and building trust.

    Jia said dealing with the challenges of the global downturn was an issue calling for cooperation.

    Further, both sides should find opportunities in the crisis to promote the normalization of the cross-Straits economic relationship through more institutionalized economic cooperation, Jia told the KMT chairman.

    Jia said the Straits Forum held in the mainland's Fujian Province had become a new platform for communication by people on both sides, who were the driving force of cross-Straits relations.

    Wu said that the great progress of cross-Straits relations in the past year had proved that the common prospects for peaceful cross-Straits development, agreed by leaders of the two parties in2005, fully met the needs of people on both sides.

    The two parties had achieved unprecedented interaction and should unswervingly continue their exchanges in a proper direction, Wu said.

    Both the people in the mainland and Taiwan were Chinese and responsible for the revitalization of the nation and its culture, Wu said.