The announcement has been welcomed by officials in Taiwan as a friendly gesture, and, if confirmed as Beijing's official line, a departure from its previous insistence that the links should be "special domestic links," which Taiwan finds unacceptable.
A presidential official told the Taipei Times that Qian's remarks were a part of the line of diplomatic credit that China has decided to extend to the US in preparation for Jiang's high-profile valedictory trip.
Besides Taiwan, China has recently softened its positions on such issues as the Iraq problem and US military deployment in Central Asia, the official pointed out.
"By doing so, Jiang's intention is to showcase himself as a broad-minded statesman, rather than a warmonger, before he steps down [as president at the annual session of China's National People's Congress next March]," the official said.
The media spotlight will focus on Jiang as he starts his meeting with Bush, and reach its peak at the APEC meeting in Mexico, where he ends his trip to North America.
Taiwan, however, will not be sidelined in the meeting, the official indicated.
At that time, the world will see Taiwan's leader sitting besides the US president. "What they will say is in fact secondary. The most important thing is that a cheerful ambience is projected in front of the media," the official said.
"For Taiwan, it would be the greatest diplomatic triumph for its representative to be seen to be at the meeting, sitting next to Bush, sharing a smile, and -- even better -- a laugh with him."
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