Chinese leader calls on closer economic ties across Taiwan Straits

Senior Chinese leader Jia Qinglin in Shanghai Thursday urged Chinese compatriots to promote further economic cooperation across the Taiwan Straits.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the first forum of elites from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, Jia, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that the closer the economic ties across the Taiwan Straits are, the deeper the common interests of the compatriots and the brighter the prospect of the peaceful and stable development of relations across the straits are.

It is the wish of both people in the mainland and Taiwan to promote economic exchanges and cooperation and seek common development on a mutually beneficial and win-win basis. This complies with the fundamental interests of cross-Strait compatriots, said Jia, who is also Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"We have exerted efforts for years and by now the economic exchanges across the Straits have grown from zero to a larger scale and higher level. Progress has been made in mail, flight and business links, and common interests are growing," he noted.

According to Jia, from 1998 to June this year, the mainland

approved more than 66,000 Taiwan-funded enterprises with total contracted investment reaching 84.1 billion US dollars and had already used Taiwan's investment of 40.7 billion US dollars.

Meanwhile, the indirect trade volume totaled 445.6 billion US dollars, and Taiwan's trade surplus exceeded 300 billion US dollars.

Since 1991, the mainland has been the largest source of a favorable trade balance of Taiwan. And since 2002, the mainland has ranked as the No. 1 export market of Taiwan, said Jia.

However, Jia pointed out that economic exchanges and cooperation between the two sides have always been disturbed by politics, which hampers the "three direct links" and the balance of economic exchanges, and sets restrictions to Taiwanese enterprises of investing in the mainland.

"Those who submit to the world trend will prosper, while those who resist shall perish," Jia quoted Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of China's democratic revolution, as saying.

Facing historic opportunities and challenges, all Chinese people should carefully and seriously think about the prospects of the Chinese nation, and think about the prospect of the relations across the Taiwan Straits from the same level, Jia said.

The proposal of establishing a peaceful and stable cross-Strait relationship by CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao in meetings with Taiwan party leaders earlier this year complies with the mainstream wish of Taiwanese compatriots and the world's trend of peaceful development, he said.

Jia hoped the Taiwanese compatriots acknowledge the four points proposed by Hu Jintao and join hands with the mainland to push the cross-Strait relationship.

The two-day forum of elites which opened Thursday in Shanghai has attracted more than 120 scholars and business figures from both sides of the Straits. They will discuss issues such as the economic development of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan businessmen's investment in the mainland, direct air and shipping links across the Straits, the prospect of agricultural exchange and cooperation between the two sides, and improvement in cross-Strait investment and trade during the forum.

Jointly sponsored by the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the policy research center of the PFP Central Committee, the forum is regarded as a major step in implementing the communique issued after the meeting between General Secretary Hu Jintao of the CPC Central Committee and PFP Chairman James Soong in May.

Source: Xinhua