Taiwan Affairs Office official Chen Yuanfeng (R) receives Chin Chin-sheng upon his arrival at the Beijing International Airport April 24. (Photo: Xinhua)

A delegation from the Taiwan-based People First Party arrived in Beijing late on Sunday to make preparations for its party leader's mid-May visit to the mainland.

The delegation, headed by secretary-general Chin Chin-sheng, arrived following an invitation extended by President Hu Jintao in his capacity as chairman of the central committee of the Communist Party of China, to the chairman of the People First Party, James Soong, to visit the mainland to promote cross-strait exchanges.

On his arrival, Chin Chin-sheng expressed willingness to facilitate communication channels to ease tensions across the strait.

"We hope we will be able to organise the details of chairman Soong's mainland visit, and the two parties will see more opportunities in the future to seek peace for people from both the mainland and Taiwan."

If all goes as scheduled, Soong's visit will be the second contact between Taiwan's opposition parties and the mainland.

Lien Chan, Chairman of Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, will embark on what he called the "journey of peace" on Tuesday.

It will be the first high-level contact between the two parties since the founding of the People's Republic of China almost 56 years ago.