Asian governments besides the United States will note with approval the productive first contact China and Taiwan had just weeks after the island's presidential election removed an obstacle in their relationship. Sabre-rattling on the Taiwanese side, and stern lecturing from Beijing, could be giving way to a serious attempt to re-establish ties on a stable, more predictable, footing. This is more than could be hoped for, after the Taipei policies of presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian had pitched the island close into accidental confrontations with China. The positive development will go some way to deflecting the renewed tension that has arisen in the vital North Asia sphere between the two Koreas, after the change of government in Seoul. Straight after Taiwan's Vice-President-elect Vincent Siew had a brief meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at a policy conference in Hainan at the weekend, President-elect Ma Ying-jeou announced that Taiwan was ready to resume a formal dialogue with China that has been held in abeyance for a decade. China blames Taiwan, whose president then was Mr Lee, for the interruption. Beijing now has in Ma a sober, constructive partner in building bridges. He has even named his chief negotiator for the cross-strait talks. Where and what the talks will lead to is still a matter of surmise, but a lot is riding on the process.

Siew also made progress on less intractable issues in his Hainan discussions, such as direct flights and the opening of Taiwan to mainland tourists. Both he and his president took the precaution of telling select foreign media at interviews at the Kuomintang party headquarters on Monday that only a small chunk of ice had broken off in the thaw with China. Siew offered the imagery that too fast thawing of the iceberg would cause flooding. China, do take note. Taiwan will not be rushed, and not in policy directions it is not prepared to go yet. The process of using semi-official channels for the negotiations has to be managed with care. Neither side should be making unreasonable demands or set pre-conditions that might torpedo a golden opportunity at an accommodation. China has eventual reunification on its mind, although it is happy with an open-ended status quo. Taiwan, even under the Chinese Communist Party's old KMT nemesis, wants to build up its people's trust in a closer working relationship with the mainland, including social exchange. If a visit by Ma to the mainland some time after his inauguration next month will accelerate the process without confounding the Taiwanese people, he should consider it. This is unprecedented for a Taiwanese president, but the time is ripe to make a break with conventional thinking.