MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Taiwan and China Open Tourism Offices in Beijing and Taipei

China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou

Taiwan set up its first government office in China this week sending a strong sign of improved relations following decades of hostilities that saw little official contact while the two sides stood at the brink of war.

The opening of a Taiwan tourism office in Beijing follows two years of trade and transit talks that have eased suspicions while increasing the urgency of communication on travel-related issues.

Markets are likely to approve of Taiwan's liaison office, staffed by five Taiwan citizens, as more evidence of closer ties between the export-reliant island and economic powerhouse China ahead of a landmark trade pact expected to be signed in June.

“I think this move is symbolic of the interactivity between the two sides,” said Yeh Kuang-shih, a spokesman for Taiwan's transportation ministry which oversees tourism. “The office has an official role, so it should facilitate two-way communication.” China is scheduled to open a reciprocal tourism office in Taiwan on Friday, Taiwan officials said.

Taiwan and China, which claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island, had forbidden official contact amid occasional threats of conflict since the civil war of the 1949. But China-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has sought to improve relations with Beijing since he took office in 2008.

A plan for mutual tourism offices emerged as the two sides produced a deal to allow as many as 3,000 Chinese tourists per day on the once off-limits island of Taiwan.