According to the sources, Hu made the promise to Lien during a one-hour meeting at St. Regis Hotel, in which Hu and Lien addressed each other as "General Secretary Hu" and "Chairman Lien, " respectively.

Lien is expected to give an explanation on the issue regarding the signing of the partial free-trade agreement, known as the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) , between Taiwan and China in a news conference later the same day.

Taiwan's government officials have said they hope the agreement will be signed by early next year. Although details have not been revealed, it could allow the two sides to enjoy tariff-free trade with each other on many products.

Hu, who first addressed the meeting Saturday, was cited as saying that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should seize the current good opportunity to build peace and expand development horizons.

Addressing Hu as general secretary, Lien hailed the noticeable improvement in cross-strait relations over the past year. He thanked China for allowing the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan to significantly increase, and expressed gratitude for Chinese delegations' large-scale procurements of Taiwanese products this year as well as for Chinese people's donations to Taiwan's victims of Typhoon Morakot.

Lien said it is the responsibility of both sides to create a win-win situation and that he appreciated "Hu's support in this regard." Lien, honorary chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang and a former vice president, is attending this year's APEC leaders' meeting on behalf of Presiden Ma Ying-jeou for a second consecutive year. He arrived in Singapore Thursday.

(By Tang Pei-chun and Flor Wang)