On August 10, Jiang Yaoping, Honorary Chairman of Association of Economy and Trade Across Taiwan Straits (AETATS), headed a delegation to Taiwan to carry out investment and trade activities. He attended and addressed the Symposium on New Opportunities of Cross-Strait Industrial Cooperation, Symposium on Cross-Strait Infrastructure Cooperation and Trade Meeting on Cross-Strait Investment Cooperation. Mr. Jiang said that AETATS and Straits Exchange Foundation have just signed the cross-Strait agreement on investment protection and promotion. It is a right time for industries on both sides of the Strait to conduct discussion on a series of investment and trade cooperation. We believe that, under the joint efforts, the two sides can integrate industrial resources and complement each other, and consequently enhance the positions and competitiveness of the two sides in global industrial chain and the international market.

Mr. Jiang said that, according to the statistics by the Mainland, in 2011, the cross-Strait trade has reached US$160 billion. By June 2012, accumulated utilized Taiwanese investment has reached US$58 billion, and it totaled US$100 billion with that transferred from other areas through Taiwan. In the past three years since 2009, totally 126 Mainland enterprises have invested in Taiwan, with capital of US$0.3 billion. The cross-Strait cooperation goes on smoothly, pilot projects get mature, financial cooperation process accelerates, and benefited parties increased.

In order to further deepen cross-Strait trade and economic cooperation, Jiang put forward the following four suggestions: First, continue to speed up ECFA follow-up talks, so as to promote further liberalized trade across the Strait. Second, seize the opportunity, actively promote the bilateral investment cooperation, especially support and encourage Mainland enterprises to invest in Taiwan, and gradually perfect the supporting policy systems in this respect; and it is hoped that Taiwan will be further open and actively encourage and support Mainland enterprises to invest in Taiwan. Third, with a long-term view, speed up cross-Strait industrial cooperation, especially cooperation in emerging industries, and jointly enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the industries across the Strait.

Regarding Infrastructure cooperation, Jiang Yaoping pointed out that the a consensus was reached on “Mainland investment entering into Taiwan” three years ago, and 51% of public facility in Taiwan has been opened up, covering such areas as civil airports and facilities, transport infrastructure, major commercial facilities, environmental pollution control facilities, social welfare and municipal construction, and preferential policies on land and tax have been released. In Mainland, the Measures for Administration on Mainland Enterprises to Invest in Taiwan was released in 2010, clarifying the specific provisions and procedural requirements for mainland enterprises to invest in Taiwan. These efforts reflected the good will of the two parties on exchanges and cooperation in infrastructure, laying a solid foundation for pragmatic cross-strait cooperation, with a broad prospect for cross-strait cooperation in infrastructure. He hopes relevant administrative departments from Taiwan to create a stable and sound environment for cross-strait business cooperation, and to give support for Mainland Engineering Enterprises in such issues as establishing resident offices, taxes, real estate purchasing and visa, and relative industrial organizations on both sides of the Strait shall be given full play as a bridge in establishing a cooperation platform for engineering enterprises on both sides of the Strait.

The seminars were jointly held by Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Exchange Association, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, China International Contractors Association, Taipei World Trade Center and the Federation of Taiwan Industry. Over hundreds of representatives from the business circle and research institutions on both sides of the Strait attended forums and business talks, and exchanged views on specific priority and objective of the cooperation. Representatives on behalf of the sponsors from Taiwan expressed that cross-strait industries enjoys a natural advantage in cooperation, and are more likely to produce a win-win opportunity, hoping Mainland enterprises to invest more smoothly in Taiwan, while Taiwan enterprises to have more opportunities in Mainland, so that enterprises and peoples on both sides of the Strait could enjoy common benefits.