Chinese mainland officials and a visiting Kuomintang (GMT) Party delegation from Taiwan reached an agreement on opening direct flights across the Taiwan Strait Thursday in Beijing.

The two sides held that opening cross-Straits direct flights assoon as possible is the expectation of the compatriots from both sides. Flexible, pragmatic and effective methods should be adopted to this end.

The understanding was reached while Li Bingcai and Zheng Lizhong, deputy directors of the Taiwan Affairs Office under the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the State Tourism Administration held a working conference with the GMT delegation.

Passenger and cargo flights across the strait should be based on the model of the 2005 Spring Festival flights, they said.

Passenger flights across the strait should be carried out during holidays, festivals, weekends and in a normal way, the two sides said.

The two sides also noted they are willing to contribute to the realization of cross-Strait flights during the 2006 Spring Festival, the most important holiday for Chinese people to reunite with their family members.

The visits of mainland residents to Taiwan, which were approved by the Chinese central government on May 3, are believed to be helpful to promote the growth of Taiwan's tourism industry and related service industries.

Officials from the Chinese mainland have said that tourism and relevant departments are making preparations for the visits of mainland residents to Taiwan.

The two sides said they would make joint efforts to help cement the outcome achieved during talks between President Hu Jintao and KMT Party Chairman Lien Chan in Beijing during the latter's visit to Beijing in late April and early May.

Editor: Yan