Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plans to greet Mr Chen Yunlin with noisy protests and sit-ins, reflecting fears that China is angling to use sweetheart business deals to buy popular support for political unification between the sides.

Seeking to allay such concerns, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has assured the public that the island's sovereignty will not be compromised.

Mr Chen's five-day visit due to begin on Monday marks a watershed for relations that have improved dramatically since Mr Ma took office in May.

Mr Chen, who heads the mainland's semi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, is considered the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit since the sides split amid civil war in 1949. The visit is centred on talks with Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung on cementing closer economic ties, especially transport links.

Opposition criticism has already clouded the trip, most visibly on Oct 20, when Mr Chen's deputy was slightly injured in an attack by protesters during an informal visit to the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan.

Aware of the sensitivities, Mr Chen has said the talks will be limited to opening direct sea links and expanding direct passenger flights launched in July, moves Taiwanese have long desired to make travel between the sides smoother and less expensive. He said the sides will also discuss a joint approach to the global financial crisis.

The visit is seen as a direct result of Mr Ma's moves to replace his DPP predecessor's stridently anti-China stance with better ties with the mainland. That has won Mr Ma plaudits from some but also spurred accusations that his Nationalist Party may collude with the Communists and sell out the island's interests.

Mr Lai Shin-yuan, head of the Taiwan's Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, said there will be no secret deals. He said: 'All the results of the talks can be laid under the sun for a clear review.'

Taiwanese opinion remains highly divided over the pace of opening to the mainland, with public opinion polls consistently showing only about one-third of Taiwanese approve of Mr Ma's current approach. Another third see him as moving too slowly, with the remainder saying he has moved too fast.

Although the visit is highly symbolic for Beijing, organisers are avoiding potential flashpoints for Taiwanese critics. In one subtle climb-down, Mr Chen will not be taking along a pair of giant pandas that have long been offered to Taiwan, an apparent acknowledgment of criticism that the gift is a public relations ploy aimed at casting Beijing in the role of patron.

Dr Yang Kai-huang, a China expert at Taiwan's Ming Chuan University, said China's switch to a less rigid approach toward Taiwan helped make the talks possible. The sides have never signed a peace treaty and Beijing has refused to abandon its threat to attack the island if it declares formal independence or permanently rejects Beijing's unification demand.

'The mainland has learned from its two decades of exchanges with Taiwan that they must try harder to placate the Taiwanese,' Dr Yang said. 'With their many internal problems, they also realise they are not ready for unification yet and have instead stressed peaceful development,' he said.

Taiwanese officials say the two sides are prepared to shelve the sticky sovereignty issue to reach agreements.

For example, analysts say shipping links could be designated as 'special cross-Strait routes' to avoid questions of whether they are domestic or international. Flights could continue to be termed charters rather than regular service to sidestep the need for a more specific designation. -- AP