Update | Xi Jinping says efforts must be made to close the China-Taiwan political divide

Beijing and Taipei must begin taking steps to close the political divide between them, President Xi Jinping told a senior Taiwanese envoy yesterday.

The president's remarks to former Taiwanese vice-president Vincent Siew Wan-chang on the sidelines of a regional economic summit are the first time Xi has publicly indicated a desire to tackle the six-decade political split during his tenure.

Many in Beijing see political talks as the next step towards eventual reunification between the mainland and Taiwan, which have been ruled separately since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist forces fled across the strait in 1949. The two sides remain military rivals.

"The issue of the political divide that exists between the two sides must step by step reach a final resolution and it cannot be passed on from generation to generation," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying during a 30-minute meeting with the Taiwanese delegation at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia.

"We have already said many times that [we are] willing to have equal consultations with Taiwan on cross-strait issues within the framework of the one-China principle and make reasonable and fair arrangements for this."

Increasing "mutual political trust" across the Taiwan Strait and jointly building "political foundations" were crucial for ensuring the peaceful development of relations, he said.