Xi stresses adherence to 1992 Consensus

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Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Tuesday underscored the importance of adherence to the 1992 Consensus and called for maintaining the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Xi made the remarks while meeting with a delegation led by Hung Hsiu-chu, leader of Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) party.

"To ensure national integrity and protect the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation is the common will of all Chinese people," Xi said.

Hung started the visit on October 30 and will stay in the mainland till November 3. It’s the first time for Hung to visit the Chinese mainland since becoming the head of the party on March 30. It also marks the first visit by the KMT's leader since the party lost the presidency and its legislative majority to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the January elections.

Earlier On Tuesday, Hung visited Zhonguancun, a technology hub in Beijing, and talked with young people from Taiwan starting up their business in the mainland.

While in the mainland , Hung is also expected to attend the Cross-Strait Peace Forum scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. About 200 delegates from across the Strait will take part in the forum to discuss politics, economy, culture, society and youth.

In the past two decades, cross-strait relations have improved significantly, thanks to a series of historic meetings.

In November 2015, Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, the top leaders of both sides, held a historic face-to-face meeting in Singapore. It was the first meeting between the leaders of the two sides since 1949.

During that meeting, the two sides vowed to cooperate and commit to the revival of the Chinese nation, as thepeople of both sides are all of Chinese descent.

(With inputs from Xinhua)