TAIPEI (REUTERS) - China will allow transit stops in Taiwan for onward flights from three Chinese cities, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Tuesday (Jan 5).

Passengers flying from Nanchang, Kunming and Chongqing will be allowed to transit through Taiwan's main international airport before flying on to a third destination, according to a statement on the Chinese government agency's website.

The two sides had been discussing the issue, which proponents have said would be a boon for Taiwanese airlines, as it could give them more business from mainland passengers travelling onwards from the island.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since defeated Nationalist forces fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to the Communists.

Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the island of 23 million people back under its control, particularly if it were to make moves towards formal independence.