Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has indicated that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should work to reduce tensions based on the view that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China.

Ma, who belongs to Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, started his trip to China on Monday. He has become the first Taiwanese leader, current or former, to visit China.

Ma visited the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang, in Nanjing on Tuesday.

In comments issued after that visit, Ma expressed hope that the two sides will work together to pursue peace, avoid war and promote Chinese ethnicity.

He said these goals are the inevitable responsibility of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait, and that they must all work hard to achieve them.

Ma was asked by reporters whether he is satisfied with his welcome. There are views in Taiwan that officials who met Ma when his plane landed in Shanghai on Monday were low ranking.

Ma replied that he is very satisfied and that his treatment has been beyond his expectations.

Taiwan's premier Chen Chien-jen said Ma is its former president, and expressed hope that he would be treated as such in accordance with international norms.

The premier's remarks are seen as asking for respect for Taiwan's sovereignty, as well as a warning to Beijing and to Ma against putting Taiwan under the framework of "one-China."