Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui yesterday ordered his government to study an offer by China's president for a summit meeting, which top officials said could be a sign that severely strained ties are mending. In a weekend interview with U.S. News and World Report magazine, Chinese President Jiang Zemin was quoted as saying he would be willing to visit Taipei and added that Lee is welcome to visit Beijing. A top aide to Lee said said a summit would have to be held outside Taiwan and China. Relations between China and Taiwan, rivals since a civil war which ended in 1949, deteriorated sharply after Beijing was angered by a U.S. visit by Lee in June.