Scholars from both sides of the Taiwan Straits on Friday said young generations are the main driving force for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations during an academic activity themed "Cross-Straits Scholars Face-to-Face" in Beijing.

Co-held by Xiamen University and the Academy of Chinese Culture, the activity aims to enhance in-depth dialogue between scholars from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Li Peng, dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, said it is necessary to guide young generations in Taiwan to have a clear understanding of the historical trend, seize the opportunity and shoulder the responsibility to complete the historical task of reunification together with the youth from the mainland.

Wang Zaixi, former deputy director of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits, and Cheng You-ping, a professor from Taipei University, held a dialogue on Taiwan youth's view on the reunification of the motherland.

They believe that peaceful reunification is the trend of the times. Noting that the young generations are the future and the hope, the experts said that we should have confidence in the younger generation from Taiwan, continue to promote in-depth exchanges and jointly create a bright future for cross-Straits relations.

Friday's event was the fourth session of the "Cross-Straits Scholars Face-to-Face" series of academic activities. Previously, scholars had also discussed spiritual bonds between the people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.