Taiwan and China on Sunday appeared set to resume dialogue on closer economic links following a landslide victory by Ma Ying-jeou of the opposition Kuomintang party in the island’s presidential election.

Mr Ma, who takes a more pragmatic attitude towards China than the incumbent Democratic Progressive party government, won 58.45 per cent of the vote, defeating the DPP’s Frank Hsieh and gaining a strong mandate to prioritise the economy over nationalism.