BEIJING - Experts have commended remarks made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on cross-Strait relations and reunification.

Xi told a visiting Taiwanese delegation Friday that cross-Strait peaceful development would not change and both sides should strengthen confidence and work for the nation's rejuvenation.

It is especially significant that Xi clarified the mainland's strategic intention as new problems are facing both sides, including Taiwan students' protest against the cross-Strait trade pact, said professor Zhu Songling with Beijing Union University.

Xi has raised a new and more inclusive idea of peaceful reunification, Xu said.

The basic guideline for the Taiwan question is "peaceful reunification; one country, two systems" and it is also the best way to realize national reunification, Xi said.

Xi emphasized his stance against Taiwan independence, warning off secessionists who instigate confrontation, hinder cooperation and damage peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Xu said.

Liu Guoshen, director of a Taiwan research institute at Xiamen University, said the mainland took a firm stance and pragmatic approach, putting pressure on secessionists, while at the same time leaving leeway for pragmatic forces within the Democratic Progressive Party.

Xi's description of a "spiritual connection between the two sides" shows how both sides should keep on enhancing mutual understanding and respect, Liu said.

"Previously, we stressed mainland respect for the mentality of the Taiwanese. Now, Taiwan should also understand the feelings of 1.3 billion people in the mainland," Liu said.

Relations between the mainland and Taiwan stalled when, defeated in a civil war, the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan in 1949. The Kuomintang are now seen as friendly to the mainland, especially since the party returned to power in 2008.