Song Tao, head of the Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs authority, met with Hsia Li-yan, vice-chairman of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang party, on Thursday in Beijing to call for strengthening of mutual trust and exchanges.

Hsia leads a delegation, which arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to seek exchanges and cooperation, as people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits expect to increase communication after the COVID-19 epidemic.

Song, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland will "deepen cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation in all areas and promote mutual understanding between people on both sides".

"We will continue to uphold the principle that the two sides across the Straits are one family, and will respect, care for and create benefits for our compatriots in Taiwan," he said.

Welcoming the delegation, Song said the mainland is willing to "strengthen exchanges and enhance mutual trust with the KMT" on the common political basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence".

He said the two sides can work together to promote cross-Straits relations and ties between the two parties, and strive for peace across the Straits, people's well-being and the national rejuvenation.

Hsia said it is hoped that the two parties will continue to communicate, sincerely cooperate, deepen mutual trust and resolve differences on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and opposition to "Taiwan independence".

He said the two parties can join hands to improve the rights and interests of people on both sides, safeguard peace and stability across the Straits, and promote peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

During their stay in the mainland till Feb 17, Hsia and the KMT delegation will attend exchange activities with mainland officials, experts, businesspeople and people from Taiwan working in the mainland to seek cooperation in the post-epidemic era.

The delegation will also visit other mainland cities, including Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Wuhan in Hubei province, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Chongqing.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday that during Spring Festival, many organizations on both sides discussed the arrangements for exchanges this year.