Taiwan's ruling party said Thursday its chief would fly to Beijing to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao later this month, in yet another sign of warming ties between the two former bitter rivals.
Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Po-hsiung is scheduled to depart for Beijing on May 25 "at the invitation of Hu," party spokesman Lee Chien-rung said in a statement.
It said Wu would stay in Beijing for two days but did not specify when he would meet Hu.
Ties between China and Taiwan, which split in 1949 after a civil war, have improved dramatically since President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly KMT came to power last May.
The two sides have signed a raft of agreements that led to regular direct flights and greater cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.
Ma's predecessor as president, Chen Shui-bian, frequently irked China with his pro-independence rhetoric. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Wu is due to visit the cities of Chongqing and Hangzhou before flying to Nanjing to pay tribute at the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China, on June 1.
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