Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met with a delegation from Taiwan's United Daily News Wednesday in Beijing.

Jia said the new central leadership attaches great importance to Taiwan affairs. It is continuously making efforts to advance relations across the Taiwan Straits and promote reunification of the country in line with the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems", and Jiang Zemin's eight-point proposal for resolving the Taiwan issue.

He said compatriots across the Straits should step up exchanges and cooperation to realize common prosperity and the reinvigoration of the Chinese nation.

The delegation made the trip at the invitation of the People's Daily, a leading newspaper of the mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2003)