BEIJING, March 10  -- Eric Chu, the newly elected chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan, was invited to visit the mainland by a spokesperson of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office on Tuesday .

Fan Liqing made the remarks in response to Chu's recent speech regarding cross-Strait exchange.

During a forum held in Hong Kong, Chu said that the KMT's position on the "1992 Consensus" was consistent and his party would continue exchanges with the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Fan said the two parties, sharing the common political stance of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," had jointly promoted mutual trust, positive exchanges, CPC-KMT relations and cross-Strait ties.

Such efforts have maintained peace and stability across the Straits and had improved the lives of the people on both sides of the Strait, she said.

"The positive practice of CPC-KMT exchanges should continue," Fan said.