Jia underlines cross-Straits cooperation in electronics, biology, agriculture

The Chinese mainland on Friday urged closer cooperation across the Taiwan Straits in the fields of electronics, information industry, photoelectricity, biology and agriculture.

"It is an urgent task for both the mainland and Taiwan to raise their technological level, change their economic growth pattern and enhance their innovation capacity to develop an innovation-oriented economy," said Jia Qinglin, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at the opening of a cross-Straits economic and trade forum in Beijing.

The mainland and Taiwan enjoy huge cooperative potential in research and development, human resources, and the industrialization of technological achievements, said Jia, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Jia's opinions were shared by Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Taiwan-based Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party who noted at the opening of the forum that the resources of the Chinese mainland are curial for the future development of Taiwan's economy.

The economic and trade relationship between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan is "very, very close," and it has been proved by the latest statistics from the World Trade Organization, which showed investment from Taiwan in the mainland reached 58 billion U.S. dollars last year, said Lien.

Taiwan aims to become an island of science and technology as well as a business hub of the world for transport, finance and marketing. These can not be realized without the resources of the mainland, said Lien, who is leading a KMT delegation to the two-day forum.

At the same time, the Chinese mainland will not just be the 'world's workshop' forever, as it will soon find its place in high-tech industries, said Lien.

Taking the integrated circuit (IC) industry as an example, Lien said Taiwan has established a complete and mature industrial system, covering design, production and sales in IC industry but failed to forge an international brand due to its small market.

If the mainland and Taiwan were to integrate their advantages in marketing, production, technology and sales of IC industry, they could produce the largest business opportunity of the first half of the 21st century, said Lien.

Jia called for the mainland and Taiwan to establish a cross-Straits mechanism and platform to share resources on science and technology in a bid to improve each other's innovation capacity on industrial technology.

In addition, the mainland and Taiwan should jointly form technical standards in the high-tech industry to create the international brands that belong to the Chinese people, said Jia.

The two-day forum will also focus on opening direct transport links across the Taiwan Straits.

Source: Xinhua