A Taiwanese jetliner departed on Monday for the Chinese commercial capital of Shanghai to start a new era of direct air and shipping services with rival China, formally ending a nearly six-decade ban on regular links.

'From now on, dialogue will replace opposition,' Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the launch of a direct shipping service to China from the southern Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung.

Relations have improved between the once-bitter rivals since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May and moved to reverse the pro-independence policy of his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian.

The mood among mainland Chinese officials on Monday was equally upbeat.

'Today is another important day in the history of cross-strait relations,' said Mr Wang Yi, the director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a shipping ceremony in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.

The trend of peaceful development for the relationship between two sides cannot be stopped. Today the prospects of peaceful development are brighter.'

Meanwhile, ships began sailing directly across the 160-kilometre Taiwan Strait on Monday, cutting up to four days off travel time in some instances, and post was for the first time allowed to be sent directly.

Previously, planes had to usually fly through Hong Kong or Macau airspace, while cargo ships were generally forced to detour through Japanese waters.

Monday also marked the start of cargo flights between the two that will number up to 60 per month, according to agreements signed on Nov 4.

Daily passenger flights also were being launched, with 16 scheduled for Monday, in an expansion of weekend charter flights inaugurated in July.

Early on Monday, a Trans Asia Airways jetliner took off from Taipei's Sungshan airport, taking 148 Taiwanese tourists and businesspeople for the 80-minute flight to Shanghai, the airline said.

The first flight departed the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen for Taiwan at 7.20am, with another one taking off from Shanghai 40 minutes later, Xinhua reported.

Taiwan's ERA Cable Station also aired footage of a China Eastern Airline jetliner preparing to depart for Taipei at the Shanghai airport.

A commercial flight from Taipei departed for Shanghai at 8am, according to Xinhua.

The direct services will save costs and generate new business as both Taiwan and China feel the pinch of the global economic slowdown, said Mr Chiang Pin-kung, head of Taiwan's semiofficial Straits Exchange Foundation.

'This will contribute greatly to our economic development,' said Mr Chiang, who signed the air and shipping pacts with his Chinese counterpart, Mr Chen Yunlin.

With annual bilateral trade at about US$100 billion (S$148 billion), Taiwanese businesses have pushed for years to end the ban on direct links across the 160-kilometre wide Taiwan Strait.

In Beijing, Mr Xu Lirong, executive vice-president of the China Ocean Shipping Group Company, said the direct shipping links will cut the cost of the company's related freight business by 30 per cent.

Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying it would 'bring new vigour to economic and trade ties' between the two sides.

Taiwan imposed the ban on regular links six decades ago. Former President Chen attempted to end it but failed to strike a deal with the mainland because of its deep distrust of him.

Taiwan's transport ministry estimates local airlines and passengers will save about NT$3 billion (S$133 million) a year, and shipping companies around half that, with the direct links.

Shanghai Airlines chairman Zhou Chi was also upbeat at the send-off for his carrier's first direct daily flight from the eastern Chinese city on Monday.

'I think this is a market with huge growth potential given there are millions of Taiwanese here,' Mr Zhou told reporters. -- AP, AFP