BEIJING, March 11 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Thursday urged for pushing forward mainland-Taiwan relations steadily, saying the two sides are facing a grand opportunity for the development of ties.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the call when attending a panel discussion of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

"The relations across the Taiwan Strait saw comprehensive improvement and development over the past year, and we are now facing a grand opportunity to develop the ties," Jia told NPC deputies of the delegation representing Taiwan.

"It's imperative to do well the work concerning Taiwan in a concrete and effective manner and steadily push forward cross-Strait relations," Jia said.

"We must stick to the principle that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China, consolidate the political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and strengthen political trust between the two sides," Jia said.

Jia, also Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also urged the two sides to deepen their economic cooperation and establish a long-term mechanism for mutual development and benefit.

Cultural and educational exchanges should be vigorously promoted to deepen the sense of national and cultural identity between compatriots across the strait, Jia said.