The head of Taiwan's ruling party flew to China Monday for the highest-level contact in more than 60 years as the two sides prepare to resume talks stalled for a decade.

Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, underscoring a rapid improvement in ties since the island's change of government.

Wu, who becomes the first ever ruling party chief from the island to visit the mainland, led a 16-member KMT delegation to Hong Kong, where they were to take a charter flight to Nanjing, according to a party statement.

"I hope the visit will help develop positive cross-Strait ties, ensure security of Taiwan people, maintain welfare of Taiwan people and push for the government's China policy," Wu told reporters before departing for China.

"I realise the delegation shoulders great responsibilities. We will try our best," Wu added.

Tensions between the two sides have shown signs of easing after Taiwan's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was roundly defeated by the more China-friendly Kuomintang in the March presidential poll.

Ma Ying-jeou was sworn in as president on May 20.

Taiwan said last week that it will resume direct talks, stalled for more than a decade, next month, with the aim of building closer trade and tourism links with Beijing.

Top of the agenda would be starting weekend passenger charter and cargo flights as well as allowing more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan, said Lai Shin-yuan, the island's new top China policymaker.

Direct links have been cut since the two sides split in 1949 after the nationalist KMT fled to Taiwan following defeat by Mao Zedong's Communists in a civil war.

The two rivals last held top-level dialogue in 1995 but China suspended follow-up talks to protest a visit to the US the same year by Taiwan's then-president Lee Teng-hui.

Wu is slated to visit Shanghai on May 29 and a Buddhist temple the next day in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, to "pray for cross-Strait peace and the victims killed by the Sichuan earthquake," the KMT statement said.

Taiwan has sent a rescue team to southwest Sichuan province to help tackle the aftermath of the devastating earthquake there, which has killed more than 62,000.

Despite their past animosity, Taiwan's government has pledged 800 million Taiwan dollars (26 million US) for earthquake relief and raised another 1.2 billion from the public.

The island's charities, businesses and individuals have already donated at least 2.4 billion Taiwan dollars, according to reports in Taipei.