"It would be a bit too optimistic to say that conditions are almost ripe for a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou and President Hu Jintao to take place, " Lien said at his first press conference since returning from the APEC summit the previous day.

Lien, a former vice president who serves as the honorary chairman of the ruling KMT, said he and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed during their meeting on the sidelines of the summit to continue the contacts and exchanges between leaders of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Such dialogues are very flexible and could include a meeting between Ma, as chairman of the KMT, and Hu, as general secretary of the CPC, but it would depend on future developments, said Lien, who attended the APEC leaders' summit on behalf of Ma for the second consecutive year.

Lien and Hu met on Nov. 14 on the sidelines of the APEC summit meeting in Singapore. Hu promised Lien that talks on a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) across the Taiwan Strait will start within this year.

Asked whether Taiwan felt pressure from China to start political dialogue, Lien noted that Taiwan and China have achieved a lot to improve cross-strait relations since Ma took office in May 2008, especially on economic issues.

"It is necessary to have dialogue and it is good if both sides of the Taiwan Strait can establish a framework to maintain cross-strait peace, but it would be an even better development if the goal can be achieved over 'decades' rather than just one decade," Lien said.

Lien said that in the meeting, both he and Hu agreed that interactions between Taiwan and China are based on goodwill and are aimed at establishing mutual trust, which cannot be accomplished in one step and should be accumulated bit by bit like building blocks.

Speaking of his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at an APEC dinner reception on Nov. 14, Lien said they chatted for 10 minutes and the first thing Obama said to him was, "I know you" because the U.S. president's grand uncle Charles Payne was Lien's schoolmate at the University of Chicago.

Asked how he saw Obama's meeting with Hu taking place Tuesday morning in Beijing, Lien said China-U.S. ties would undoubtedly grow closer, as the two work together on issues such as anti-terrorism, North Korea, Iran, Iraq and economic affairs.

Lien said, however, that while Washington may seek a closer partnership with Beijing, it will not give up its core values and will pay attention to whether China and the U.S. share common interests.

For example, he said, the United States and China have common interests but also differ on the issues of market liberalization, free trade, the value of the Chinese currency, North Korea and Iran's nuclear program, and it is up to the U.S. leader to make a choice.

Lien is confident that closer U.S.-China ties would not affect bilateral relations between Taiwan and the U.S.

"While U.S.-China relations continue to grow, I believe that Washington's Taiwan policy will not change, as has been stressed by the U.S. many times in public and through many channels," Lien said.

"Under the Taiwan Relations Act and three communiques between China and the U.S., the framework of America's policies toward Taiwan and China are very clear and definite," he added.

(By Rachel Chan)