BEIJING, March 5 -- The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief said Wednesday that he expects to visit Taiwan in the first half of this year.

The two sides of Taiwan Strait are expected to make new moves in building closer relations, said Zhang Zhijun, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a panel discussion of the Taiwan delegation during the ongoing annual parliamentary session.

Zhang met Wang Yu-chi, his Taiwan counterpart, in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing last month and accepted Wang's invitation to return the visit to the island.

When elaborating what to be done this year, Zhang said the two sides should build up the political foundation for cross-Strait peace, which is to adhere to the 1992 Consensus, oppose Taiwan independence and jointly uphold One-China principle.

The mainland will issue more preferential policies to benefit as many ordinary Taiwan people as possible and deepen exchanges and cooperation, he said.

The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait will continue regular talks with Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and try to finish follow-up negotiations of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement within this year, he added.