TAIPEI - Taiwan`s President Ma Ying-jeou Sunday sent a message to China`s President Hu Jintao, calling for closer ties following the historic trade pact signed by the two sides last month.

The appeal, condensed into 16 Chinese characters, will be given to Hu this week by Wu Poh-hsiung, honorary chairman of Taiwan`s Kuomintang party, when he meets the mainland`s leader in Beijing.

"There is a lot of things to do after the signing of the ECFA, I hope the two sides can work forward on the 16-word principle," Ma said during a trip to southern Tainan country

Translated into English, the 16 words read: "Looking into realities, tolerating (political) differences, accumulating mutual trust and further creating win-win."

Negotiators from Taiwan and China signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing late June.

The pact, by far the most sweeping between the two sides, marks the culmination of Ma`s Beijing-friendly policy, introduced after he assumed power in 2008.

Opponents say the accord will strengthen Beijing`s power over the island, marking a first step towards reunification, an accusation rejected by Ma.

Ma has said he will press for free-trade agreements with other countries in the region, now that the agreement with China has been reached.

Taiwan already has free-trade deals with Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua and has been pushing for tie-ups with other major trading partners as it tries to avoid being marginalised by the growing number of regional economic blocs.

But talks have become bogged down, largely due to pressure from Beijing, which still considers the island part of its territory, even though Taiwan has governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949.

BDST:1412 HRS, July 11, 2010