The Chinese mainland is willing to discuss teaching Chinese as a second language with experts and scholars in Taiwan, said Zhang Xinsheng, vice-minister of education, Wednesday.

Zhang made the statement when a journalist said Taiwan is sending Chinese teachers overseas at a press conference Wednesday.

"The Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one country. We welcome whoever is devoted to teaching foreigners Chinese and spreading Chinese culture, as long as they do not intend to split the country," he said.

The Chinese mainland uses simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, while Taiwan uses traditional Chinese characters and the National Phonetic Alphabet.

"We encourage using the simplified Chinese but do not oppose using the traditional. The two types of characters will exist for a long time as Hong Kong and Macao still use the traditional after they returned to China," said Liu Zepeng, deputy director of the Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs under the State Council.

"But pinyin will replace the National Phonetic Alphabet by any means along with the development of computer and Internet's technologies," he said.