When the Chinese Kuomintang (or the Nationalist Party) Honorary Chairman Lien Chan began his third trip to the mainland within a year on Thursday, he became well placed to gauge the mood and aspirations of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Lien, as a statesman, has a profound understanding of global trends and cross-Strait relations. His visit for the promotion of economic and trade exchanges and direct transport links is likely to be fruitful and conducive to building peaceful, stable and mutually beneficial relations.

"Everything is hard at the start, but difficulties can be resolved as long as people set their minds to them," said Lien upon his arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

Lien's visit is a good start on the road to peaceful and mutually beneficial relations and the Chinese mainland welcomes more patriotic statesman like Lien Chan for an exchange of views. History has shown that frequent communication and exchanges have helped in the positive development of ties.

Lien Chan is leading a delegation to attend a two-day cross-Strait economic and trade forum, starting on Friday, or April 14.

The convention of the forum is both essential and pressing, as economic cooperation and exchanges have been developing for more than 20 years.

Direct and indirect trade is worth approximately 500 billion US dollars annually and the mainland is Taiwan's biggest export market with which it has its largest trade surplus.

Booming economic and trade cooperation has created new issues that require resolution through talks.

The forum will also focus on the realization of direct transport links, given the fact that since the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress raised the "three direct links" of mail, transport and trade in 1979, mail and trade links have developed well, but transport has failed to progress.

Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, will meet with Lien Chan during the forum. Lien Chan will pay his respects at the tomb of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), the pioneer of China's democratic revolution, in Beijing's Fragrant Hills.

He will also go to offer sacrifices to his ancestors in Zhangzhou city, Fujian Province in east China, as part of his tripbe fore returning to Taiwan in April 25.

From April 26 to May 3 last year, then Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan visited the Chinese mainland and held landmark talks with Hu Jintao, the first ever such talks since Taiwan separated from the mainland six decades ago. They jointly issued the "common aspiration and prospects for cross-Strait peace and development".

From October 14 to 28 last year, Lien Chan came to Chinese mainland again, visiting the Panda Research Center in Wolong, Sichuan Province, vowing to help bring pandas donated by mainland to Taiwan.