Spokesman for this year's national legislature annual session, Li Zhaoxing, said in Beijing on Wednesday that he wanted to visit Taiwan island so soon as possible.

"I also want to see an early peaceful reunification of our great motherland," Li said at a press conference held in the Great Hall of the People.

Li said he was excited to see that relations across the Taiwan Straits are making progress and people on both sides are carrying out friendly exchanges and cooperation.

He cited Chinese President Hu Jintao's statement as saying that the mainland is looking forward to negotiating with Taiwan in reaching "a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement" and establishing "a collaboration mechanism with special cross-Straits characteristics."

"We expect to normalize economic relations across the Straits and establish an economic cooperation mechanism," said President Hu in a speech to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the mainland major change in the policy toward Taiwan on December 31 last year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2009)