CHONGQING - As the venue of a major cross-Straits trade deal's signing, this municipality on Tuesday began a new chapter in its legacy of linking the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT).

The tariff-slashing ECFA is a landmark deal that follows six decades of hostility that had at times led to the brink of war.

"By choosing Chongqing, Beijing underscores the link between Taiwan and the mainland," George Tsai, a political scientist at Taipei's Chinese Culture University, was quoted as saying by AFP.