TAIPEI (Taiwan) - TAIWANESE President Ma Ying-jeou said he has no immediate plans to meet his Chinese counterpart despite the rapidly improved relations between the once-bitter foes.

In an interview with Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper published on Tuesday, Mr Ma dismissed widespread speculation that his prospective role as the ruling party chairman could pave the way for a historic meeting with Hu Jintao.

As the only candidate in the race, Mr Ma is a shoo-in to be elected Nationalist Party chairman later this month. Prominent party members have urged Mr Ma to use that title to meet Mr Hu soon, in order to circumvent issues of disputed sovereignty that would prevent a meeting between the two as heads of state.

But Mr Ma said such a meeting was not on the cards.

'The idea has never occurred to me,' he was quoted saying. 'A meeting in the capacity of a party chairman will not solve the problem because other people would still insist that I meet him as the president.' 'A meeting could take place later,' he was quoted saying.

'The important thing now is to exclude political factors so we can normalize economic and diplomatic conditions.' Presidential spokesman Wang Yu-chi confirmed Mr Ma's comments in the interview.

Mr Ma has moved quickly to improve economic ties with China during his 14 months in office. He has liberalized conditions for two-way investment, and the two sides have agreed to allow banks to operate in each other's territory.

In the Commercial Times interview, Mr Ma said the two sides are expected to sign a partial trade pact - the so-called Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement - next year. He said the deal will offer preferential tariffs on a wide range of products.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. The communist mainland still views the democratic island as part of its territory, to be brought back into the fold by force if necessary. -- AP