A spokesman says the Chinese mainland will speed up discussions and the signing of an economic pact with Taiwan. He says discussions on setting up a military and security mutual trust mechanism will be conducted at an appropriate time.

Both sides of the Taiwan Strait should work together toward the goal of signing the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement as soon as possible. Yang Yi, a spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular press conference Wednesday.

Yang Yi says a decision on when the pact is signed depends on the progress of talks between the two sides. Both sides are still discussing the date of the second round of expert discussions.

The spokesman says that the two sides are considering increasing the number of direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan to ease transport pressure.

Yang Yi, Spokesman of State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said, "We fully understand that the residents of the two sides hope to expand the current number of flights. The mainland and Taiwan are willing to negotiate the issue, to provide a safe and convenient service for the residents of the two sides."

Yang said the mainland has agreed to discuss the establishment of a military and security mutual trust mechanism across the Taiwan Strait at an appropriate time.

According to Yang Yi, military exchanges across the straits "should be done step by step, dealing with the easy first and the hard later."