Chinese President Xi Jinping (front R), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and joins their panel discussion in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2015. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC and a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also attended the event. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ni Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies, said Xi has articulated Beijing's cross-Straits policy at a sensitive time, and also the great importance the leadership attaches to the ties, and the damage caused by pro-independence forces.

The president, who spent more than a decade working in Fujian province, which lies across the Straits from Taiwan, said the mainland is committed to a peaceful cross-Straits policy and to bringing benefits to people on both sides of the waterway.

"We are willing to learn Taiwan compatriots' thoughts and needs. ... The mainland's development will generate more opportunities, and we would like to let Taiwan compatriots share the opportunities," he said.

Xi said the key factor deciding the direction of cross-Straits ties is the mainland's development and progress.

The mainland is the island's largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching $198.31 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of 0.6 percent.

Yang Jian, a national political adviser and vice-chairman of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, called for increased exchanges between the mainland and "third forces" whose influence has been increasing.

Ji Bin, deputy head of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, suggested that young people from Taiwan should be encouraged to start businesses on the mainland.

Ji, who is also a national political adviser, said that people from Taiwan who have worked or lived on the mainland for a long time should be treated in the same way as those who were born and raised on the mainland.

Observers said more Taiwan people want to work on the mainland, but they feel they would face difficulties in medical care and their children's education.