In his meeting with Honorary chairman of the Kuomintang Party Wu Po-hsiung on Thursday, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, put forward a four-point proposal for furthering cross-Straits ties. This will have a far-reaching influence on benign interaction between the two parties and will inject new vitality into cross-Straits cooperation in a wide range of fields.

Wu is leading a delegation on a three-day visit to Beijing that started on Wednesday. The visit, his sixth to Beijing, coincides with the Dragon Boat Festival. That compatriots on both sides of the Straits celebrated the same festival with same rituals and customs carries the message that we belong to the same family, which has added an extra cordial touch to Wu's trip.

The meeting was Xi's first with a high-ranking KMT official since he became CPC chief in November. There were high expectations before the meeting that this high-level exchange would set the tone for cross-Straits interaction for the next five years. Xi's proposal has made such expectations well-founded.

Xi suggested that both sides should grasp the overall situation of cross-Straits ties from the perspective of the overall interests of the Chinese nation. Both should grasp the future of cross-Straits ties with a clear understanding of historical trends, and both sides should continue to increase mutual trust, adhere to positive interaction, seek common ground while reserving differences and steadily push for the overall development of cross-Straits ties.

Xi's proposal epitomizes the CPC's new vision in advancing cross-Straits interaction, as well as broadening pragmatic cooperation between the two sides.

Xi also stressed that both sides belong to a community with a shared destiny, which is a vivid reflection of both the width and depth of cross-Straits cooperation in recent years.

Since Taiwan allowed visits from individual tourists from mainland cities in June 2011, individual mainland residents had made 385,800 trips to Taiwan by the end of May, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Sunday. This is only part of the picture, as cross-Straits interaction has continually grown and been enriched in recent years.

For the benefits of compatriots on both sides of the Straits and for our shared aspiration for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we have every reason to continue building on the favorable momentum in cross-Straits interaction and consolidating the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Straits ties.

(China Daily USA 06/14/2013 page15)