Eric Chu Photo: CFP

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Sunday congratulated Eric Chu Li-luan on being elected chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party.

Xi said that the CPC and KMT have promoted the peaceful development of relations across the Straits on the common political basis of both adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," which has benefited people on both sides of the Straits. 

Xi said he hoped that the two parties will work together for the well-being of the compatriots across the Straits, seek peace in the Taiwan Straits and make contributions to the reunification and great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

In his reply, Chu expressed his gratitude to Xi. He said he hoped the two parties will promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and opposition to "Taiwan independence."

On Saturday, Chu won the KMT election in the island of Taiwan and became the next party chair. 

Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University, East China's Fujian Province, told the Global Times on Sunday that the CPC's sending congratulations to new KMT leaders has been a tradition of the two parties. Xi offered congratulations to the new KMT leader, which itself signals that the CPC and KMT have reconfirmed the common political basis between the two parties, which will benefit future interactions and promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

Chu cited the "1992 Consensus" and opposition to "Taiwan independence" in his reply but remained ambiguous on reunification. Wang said it demonstrates Chu's politically driven conservatism and the need to win the election. 

How to stabilize cross-Straits relations including the attitude toward secessionists, how to resume the disrupted communication mechanism between the CPC and the KMT, and how to push forward economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan are three tasks ahead of the KMT so as to maintain its competitiveness in the island, Wang said.