Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with delegates attending the national working conference of the overseas Chinese affairs in Beijing Feb. 28, 2005.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has underlined the importance of the unity between domestic and overseas Chinese in promoting the country's further development, during a meeting of delegates of a national conference on overseas Chinese affairs.

Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, urged CPC committees and governments at all levels to put overseas Chinese affairs on top agenda and "firmly implement relevant state policies in a bid to better safeguard their fundamental interests."

There are tens of millions of Chinese, including Chinese nationals, residing in more than 100 countries and regions in the world, many of them are talented, have sound economic power and a special affiliation with China, Hu said.

And the 30-million-odd returned overseas Chinese and their relatives, who are working in all walks of life in China, maintain innumerable ties with Chinese residing abroad.

Hu pointed out that work on overseas Chinese affairs may achieve a lot in "uniting these people to contribute to the building of a moderately affluent society," "curbing the "Taiwan independence attempts," as well as "enhancing friendly exchanges between the Chinese people and those in other countries in the world."

Other senior leaders who were present at the occasion include Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Jia Qinglin, and Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong.