The Chinese mainland on Friday called for more exchanges across the Taiwan Straits to pool wisdom and strength for mutually beneficial cooperation.

"It is the common aspiration of compatriots on both sides of the Straits to expand and deepen cross-Straits economic exchange and cooperation so as to boost the peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits relations and to attain the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," said Jia Qinglin, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"This calls for the joint efforts of compatriots on both sides of the Straits," said Jia, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, at a cross-Straits economic and trade forum that opened Friday morning.

Jia, also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top advisory body, called the forum a new effort of the CPC and Taiwan's Chinese Kuomintang Party to to set up a platform for "persons of insights" to get together to discuss ways for mutually beneficial cooperation across the Straits.

Everything that concerns the interests of compatriots across the Straits is open for discussion at the two-day forum, he said.

Jia also criticized the leader of the Taiwan authorities for his intensified efforts for "Taiwan independence."

The latest evidence of it is the announcement of ceasing the function of the Taiwan-based "National Unification Council" and ceasing the application of the council's guidelines on unifying with the mainland in February.

"It is a serious challenge against the one-China principle, which has been widely upheld by the international community, and peace and stability across the Straits," said Jia, adding, it is also a "dangerous step" toward "Taiwan independence."

To safeguard the fundamental interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, "We will never tolerate 'Taiwan independence'," Jia stressed.

Source: Xinhua