Taipei  - The rivalry between Taiwan and China has eased significantly in the past year, following the return to power of the Beijing-friendly Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT).

But it will be difficult for the two sides to achieve a real truce, given the "one China" principle of Beijing, and Taipei's insistence on political sovereignty, analysts said.

Many are also skeptical over whether Beijing is willing to allow Taipei to remain independent indefinitely, though it has been on good terms with the KMT government.

"There is no doubt cross-strait relations have never been so amiable due to reconciliation between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but remember it is a set policy of China to bring Taiwan back to the mainland fold," said Hsu Yung-ming, political science professor of Soochow University.

He said although Beijing had shown goodwill by agreeing to resume talks with the KMT government and offer economic sweeteners to the island, its ultimate goal was to woo Taiwanese people and prevent the island from officially breaking away.

"Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, are unlikely to let Taiwan remain de-facto independent forever," he noted.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing continues to consider the island an integral part of its territory that must be brought back under its control, if necessary by force.

The long standoff saw a historic breakthrough in June when Beijing agreed to resume talks that were suspended in 1999.

Beijing had refused to deal with the former government headed by pro-independence president Chen Shui-bian, who ended five decades of KMT rule in Taiwan with his victory in 2000. Although Chen had sought to hold talks with Beijing during his two four-year terms, Beijing snubbed him due to his advocacy of independence.

Chinese authorities rested their hopes on the return the KMT, which mended fences with the mainland's Communist Party during an historic visit by former KMT chairman Lien Chan in 2005.

Lien's successor Ma Ying-jeou, who was KMT chairman in 2005-2007 and Taipei mayor in 1998-2006, won the presidential election in March. Since taking office in May, he has engaged China and promoted cross-strait economic exchanges.

Beijing greeted Ma's initiative by resuming talks with Taipei in June, followed by six new agreements on direct passenger and cargo charter flights, direct shipping, food safety as well as the opening of the island for Chinese tourists.

"The four November 4 agreements (in Taipei), along with two earlier ones signed in Beijing on June 13, signal such a change of heart - a sea change in the attitudes of authorities in both Taipei and Beijing that is conducive to fostering cooperation and mutual trust," Ma's spokeswoman Vanessa Shih said.

In an unprecedented move, Beijing also agreed to allow Lien to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru - making Lien the most senior Taiwan official accepted since the summit was first organized in 1993.

Shih said Beijing's concession in Peru signalled that Ma's efforts for a diplomatic truce and cross-strait peace would bear fruit "no matter how arduous the road ahead."

But Liu Shih-chung, a visiting fellow at the Centre for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Ma would be naive to believe he could forge a cross-strait truce.

He said while Beijing's intention over the truce proposal had remained unclear, Ma had already minimized his bargaining space by calling cross-strait ties a "region-to-region" relationship.

"This gives Beijing more leeway to sell its 'one China' principle on the global stage," he said in a recent article published by the Taipei Times. (dpa)