|
BIZCHINA> Top Biz News
![]() |
|
Mainland firms go on $10b spending spree in Taiwan
By Diao Ying and Xie Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-21 08:09 The Chinese mainland will send three delegations of enterprises to the island of Taiwan in the next three months to purchase goods ranging from craftwork, processed food, raw material to mechanical parts, the Ministry of Commerce announced yesterday. The aim is to help the people of Taiwan get business opportunities during "financially difficult times" and strengthen cross-Straits trade ties, Yao Jian, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement. Though the ministry did not reveal the dollar value of the purchases, China Central Television (CCTV) said the purchases could be worth "$8 billion to $10 billion".
Li Shuilin, head of the Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits, a non-government organization, will lead the first delegation, the ministry said. Taiwan media reported that Chen Deming, the mainland's minister of commerce, will lead a 1,000-member purchase delegation to Taiwan by the end of June. It would make Chen the highest-ranking mainland official to visit the island. Taiwan's "Mainland Affairs Council" Vice-Chairman Chao Chien-min said the purchasing groups from the mainland will help the people of the island get some business, the Taiwan-based Central News Agency reported. "It (the move) shows the mainland's kindness toward Taiwan. Despite billions of dollars of trade deficit against Taiwan, Beijing is still sending purchase groups to help the island," said Wu Nengyuan, director of the Fujian-based Institute of Taiwan Studies. Last year, cross-Straits trade amounted to $129.2 billion. The mainland imported $103.34 billion and exported $25.88 billion in goods, resulting in a trade deficit of $77.46 billion. The purchases will help the island's export-based economy tide over the financial crisis and boost two-way trade, which has dropped recently, Wu said. From January to April, trade between the mainland and Taiwan dropped 40 percent - to $26.35 billion - compared with the same period last year. Imports from Taiwan amounted to $21.15 billion, down 40.8 percent, according to figures from the customs department. Yang Lixian, a Beijing-based expert with National Society of Taiwan Studies, said export-driven Taiwan has been hit hard by the global meltdown. "The mainland has taken concrete measures to support the recovery of Taiwan's economy," said Liu Xueqin, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a research body under the ministry of commerce. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
洛扎县| 济宁市| 炎陵县| 澄迈县| 五指山市| 清新县| 莱州市| 浙江省| 新沂市| 连山| 康定县| 安丘市| 教育| 个旧市| 濮阳市| 吉林市| 久治县| 延津县| 河北区| 临沭县| 石河子市| 江陵县| 汉沽区| 信阳市| 定兴县| 古丈县| 宜兰县| 永丰县| 阿克陶县| 黄梅县| 邢台市| 横峰县| 镇康县| 镶黄旗| 汝南县| 牟定县| 永清县| 海宁市| 汤阴县| 蓬安县| 印江|