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Mainland on spending spree in Taiwan

By Su Qiang and Xie Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-02 10:52

Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung waves while touring the Dr Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, yesterday. Sun was the KMT's founding father.[Reuters]

A business delegation from the mainland was hoping to buy as many "made-in-Taiwan" goods as possible yesterday, a day after arriving on the island.

Li Shuilin, chairman of the mainland's Association of Economy and Trade Across Taiwan Straits (ATEEATS), said there was no limit to the quantity of Taiwan goods the delegation might order during the procurement mission.

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"As long as Taiwan produces what the mainland needs, we will buy from Taiwan and nowhere else," Li said at a briefing organized by the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to welcome him and the rest of the 77-member trade delegation.

"It is difficult to predict the total volume of the procurements, which will include information technology products, precision machinery, petroleum products and handmade crafts. Let's just say that there will be no limit."

Earlier reports said the delegation, the first of its kind, might spend as much as $2 billion during its six-day stay.

Zhang Guanhua, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' institute of Taiwan studies said some of Taiwan's products, like panel, semiconductor and electronics were very competitive.

"The Taiwan-made products in these fields are good quality, compared to importing them from South Korea or Japan. Buying them from Taiwan is more cost-effective for the mainland," he said.

ATEEATS was set up by the Ministry of Commerce to handle cross-Straits trade deals and promote commercial exchanges, while TAITRA is a semi-official Taiwan agency that deals with matters of trade promotion and international sales.

The delegation comprises 46 mainland companies, including big manufacturing companies Lenovo and Haier.

Half the delegation had won bids to provide products under China's new subsidy program to expand consumer purchasing of home appliances in rural areas, as part of a massive economic stimulus package.

ATEEATS said it would send two more procurement missions to Taiwan in June and July.

The mainland announced last week that seven to nine procurement delegations to Taiwan would visit from May to September to help develop the island economy during the global downturn.

TAITRA Chairman Wang Chih-kang said both sides, by combining Taiwan's technology and the mainland's market, would be able to set up industrial standards and create an industry that could dominate the world.

He also urged the mainland and Taiwan to package hi-tech products with Chinese cultural features and develop products that will be welcomed by both Chinese and people worldwide.

KMT chairman heads home

Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT), flew home yesterday, after wrapping up his eight-day mainland tour with a visit to Dr Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum in Nanjing in the east China province of Jiangsu. The visit commemorated the 80th anniversary of Sun's official burial.

Sun was the KMT's founding father. Wu called for people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits to strive for the Chinese nation's rejuvenation, a notion raised by Sun.

Wang Yi, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said Wu's mainland trip had strengthened the mutual trust between the parties.

"Based on the mutual trust, and aiming for a win-win situation, I believe the cross-Straits relationship could keep moving forward," Wang said.

Wu agreed with Wang's words, and emphasized practical movements are on the way, with kindness and trust between both sides accumulating through initiatives such as the mainland purchasing groups and the Taiwan businessmen actively investing in the mainland.

CNA contributed to the story