Taiwan

CPC advisor urges better cross-Straits ties

By Zhao Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-08 07:15

CHENGDU, Sichuan - China's top political advisor urged the mainland and Taiwan to promote regularized and upgraded economic cooperation for the people's benefits on Saturday.

Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said cross-Straits economic cooperation is an "irresistible trend".

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Jia said it is "unprecedented" for both sides to list bilateral trade exchanges as an important part of their economic plans, the mainland's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and the island's "golden decade" blueprint (2011-2020).

Jia, also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the seventh Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, which is held in Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

As for the key of peaceful development, Jia attributed the increasing cross-Straits exchanges since May 2008 to a "favorable political environment" in the island.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou has been pushing for stronger economic ties with the mainland since he and the ruling KMT took office in May 2008.

Party-to-party exchanges between the CPC and the KMT have borne significant fruit in China's history.

The two had jointly overthrown the rule of the Northern Warlords from 1924 to 1927, and were united again during the Resistance War Against Japanese Aggression from 1937 to 1945.

The KMT's Honorary Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung attributed economic and cultural exchanges, the "two bridges" between the mainland and Taiwan, to the island's economic resurgence last year.

Cross-Straits trade volume reached $131.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 39.7 percent in 2010.

In addition, the mainland became the largest source of tourists for Taiwan last year. About 1.2 million mainland tourists visited the island, a 128 percent increase over the preceding year.

Similar trade and industry indicators are expected to steadily increase, since a landmark economic pact - the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement - took effect in January.

"The mainland and Taiwan should not retrace their steps in terms of economic and cultural exchanges, since retrogression is a misfortune for the public of both," Wu said.

Jia urged both sides to establish a mechanism that ensures future cooperation.

He pledged to accelerate industry upgrading to enhance the level of trade exchanges.