Taipei, Oct 5 (IANS): Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she will stick to her pledge of maintaining the status quo and goodwill in cross-strait ties with China but will not buckle under pressure or seek confrontation with it, a media report said on Wednesday.

She said her inaugural speech as the President had shown flexibility and goodwill, and sought the maximum common ground with China, without losing track of the democratic will of the Taiwanese people, Efe news quoted a media report of the US daily Wall Street Journal as saying.

In the face of repeated demands from China asking her to accept the 1992 Consensus, she said there is a democratic consensus in Taiwan and no head of state can accept anything that is against the popular will of its citizens.

Tsai also underlined that she does not mean to adversely impact trade and economic ties with China, but admitted economic complementarity between both sides has slid and they are increasingly become more competitive.

She said she hopes to strengthen trade and cultural ties with South and Southeast Asia in a policy shift.

Stressing that Taipei's international ties must be substantive and seek mutual benefit, Tsai added that the island will do everything possible to contribute to the international community, where it hopes to play a more active and significant role with time.

On the South China Sea conflict, Tsai spoke in favour of compliance with international and maritime laws, and advocated resolving the issue multilaterally.