Taiwan and China sign agreements

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Top officials from Taiwan and China signed deals on daily direct flights, new cargo routes and food safety on Tuesday during Beijing's highest-level visit to its political rival in 60 years.

China negotiator Chen Yunlin also said he aimed to normalise financial ties with Taiwan amid the global financial crisis.

Communist China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's KMT fled to Taiwan. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

Chen and his Taiwan counterpart, P.K. Chiang, signed 13 agreements, putting aside old security and sovereignty concerns.

"I think history will remember that this event happened," Chen told a Taiwan's official after the signings. "Although there are a lot of difficulties for peaceful development between the two sides, we're making a lot of efforts."

Their deals triple the number of direct China-Taiwan charter flights, let planes cross between the two sides daily, add Chinese airports to the destination list and shorten routes.

The two sides also agreed to begin direct air and sea cargo shipments, open postal links and notify each other quickly of any food safety issues following China's tainted milk powder scandal.

Foreign business groups, eager to move personnel and goods smoothly between the two sides, welcomed the agreements, but travel agents want China to let more people visit Taiwan.