Taipei  - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou does not want to meet China's President Hu Jintao in his capacity as Taiwan ruling party's chairman, according to an interview published Tuesday.

In an interview with the Commercial Times daily, Ma said that his running for chairmanship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was not in order to pave the way for a meeting with Hu, who is also secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

"The time for leaders of both sides to meet has not come yet, and I have never considered becoming the KMT chairman so that I can meet him in such a capacity," he said.

The KMT will elect its next chairman on July 26. Ma, as sole contender, is set to win a post which will give him greater power to run the country.

There has been speculation that Ma's doubling as KMT chairman will enable him to meet with Hu, as the past and the current KMT chairman have visited Beijing and met with Hu several times.

China sees Taiwan as its breakaway province, and bars Taiwan's president from appearing on the world stage as Taiwan's leader.

Since Ma from the China-friendly KMT took office on May 20, 2008, he has taken a series of measures to promote cross-strait exchanges, including opening air, sea and postal links, and allowing Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan.

China has also shown goodwill to Taiwan, and allowed Taiwan's former vice president Lien Chan to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit held in Peru in November 2008.

Analysts said the annual APEC summit is an ideal occasion for Taiwanese and Chinese leaders to meet, but China is not likely to permit Taiwan president to attend the summit in the near future.(dpa)