President Hu Jintao said in Manila, the Philippines Thursday that he looked forward to meeting with the Kuomintang (KMT) Party leader Lien Chan in Beijing on Friday.

In a speech delivered at a welcoming party by personalities of the Philippine Chinese from all walks of life, President Hu said that the Taiwan issue is closely connected to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, involving the national emotions of 1.3 billion Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits.

Realizing a complete unification of the motherland is the ardent aspiration and sacred mission of the Chinese people across the Straits, and a common desire of all overseas Chinese, Hu stressed.

Talking about Lien Chan's ongoing mainland visit, President Hu said that it's a significant event in the history of relations between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the KMT. It is also a big event in the relations across the Taiwan Straits at the current phase, he added.

Hu said he is looking forward to his meeting with Chairman Lien Chan in Beijing on Friday, expressing the belief that the chairman's journey of peace will definitely achieve a success.

At the invitation of the CPC Central Committee and its General Secretary Hu Jintao, Lien Chan, chairman of the KMT, and a KMT delegation he is leading, kicked off a visit to the mainland on Tuesday. It is the first visit to the mainland by a KMT chairman since 1949.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2005)