Taipei - Taiwan and China, taking another step towards peaceful co-existence, on Tuesday signed four pacts on expanding trade ties across the Taiwan Strait.

The pacts were signed by China's negotiator Chen Yunlin and Taiwan's negotiator Chiang Ping-kun at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. Their talks, lasting from Monday till Thursday, are the highest-level dialogue between Taipei and Beijing as Chen is the highest- level Chinese official to visit Taiwan in 60 years.

The four pacts include direct sea links, expansion of weekend charter flights to daily charter flights, direct postal service and food safety.

The air pact also includes increasing the number of charter flight destinations and the number of flights, and allowing the two sides' planes to fly more directly across the Taiwan Strait, instead of passing through Hong Kong.

"The more direct flight will help airlines to cut fuel by 40-50 per cent," he told reporters.

In terms of sea links, Taiwan, Chinese and Hong Kong freighters will be allow to ply across the Taiwan Strait, with China opening 63 ports to Taiwan.

Direct sea links can cut Taiwan to China shipping time by 16-27 hours and shipping costs by 15-30 per cent, he said.

In the talks, the two sides also discussed six topics to be tackled at next year's dialogue, to be held in China. They include cooperation in the fields of finance, banking, education, press, fishing and labour.

President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to meet Chen on Thursday and ask Beijing to give Taipei more "international space," meaning allowing Taiwan to join international organizations and attend international activities, and demand China remove the more than 1,000 missiles facing Taiwan.