General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Hu Jintao met with the former head of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Party as both underscored the need to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait.

Hu Jintao (R), General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Lien Chan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2006. [Xinhua]

"Peace and development should become the main issue on the development of cross-strait ties and should be the goal that compatriots on both sides of the strait should struggle for," Hu told Lien Chan in televised talks.

"In recent years there have been continued ups and downs in cross-strait relations. The main reason is that some people are ignoring the will of the people," he said.

"Today we on one side have peace, but on the other side we have the example of conflict," Lien said.

"Peace must be the basis to everything. Peace is the basis for prosperity, for development and for existence."

The Chinese mainland on Saturday announced a series of new trade beneficial policies to Taiwan in a gesture aimed at speeding reunification.

Beijing will now allow four additional varieties of Taiwanese fruit to enter the Chinese mainland and will cancel the import tax for 11 kinds of vegetables, officials said.

Eight species of Taiwanese seafood will also be allowed in duty-free, and the mainland will also permit Taiwanese fishing boats to sell their catch in markets in the mainland's southeastern province of Fujian.