On May 4, top leader Xi Jinping met the visiting Chairman of the Kuomintang Eric Chu in Beijing. This is Chu's first visit to the mainland since he was elected head of Taiwan's ruling party in January.

Xi said cross-Straits relations are important for all on both sides of the Straits, as they involve the future of the Chinese nation and the welfare and benefit of hundreds of millions of people.

He urged both sides of the Straits to enhance mutual trust, in order to maintain the process of peaceful development of cross-Straits ties, saying both sides should realize they are a community of shared destiny.

Xi said he is confident that the Chinese nation will realize its revival in the near future if all Chinese, including people on both sides of the Straits, work together.

Carrying on the same cultural tradition, people from both sides of the Straits should work to build a bridge between their hearts and souls, Xi said.