Taiwan business community 'helps nurture relations'

The Taiwan business community has contributed to the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and will remain committed to the 1992 Consensus of one China, despite the changing political and economic situation, top political adviser Yu Zhengsheng said on Monday.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, commented after meeting with a delegation from the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"The mutual acknowledgment of the 1992 Consensus is the foundation of economic cooperation across the Straits," said Yu. He added that the association, as a bridge connecting the mainland and the island, has benefited from the peaceful development and should convey this spirit to more people in Taiwan.

Yu said the government has been listening to the island's business community through the association and paying attention to their concerns, and that the current preferential policies for Taiwan businesses will be unchanged.

The association, founded in 2007, is a nonprofit organization made up of businesspeople from the island. Its new leadership had its first meeting with more than 200 members at the hall on Monday.

"The association has been a firm supporter of the 1992 Consensus and witnessed the fast development of cross-Straits relations in the past eight years," said Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. "The island's business community must know the importance of peaceful cross-Straits relations. If the relations falter, the interests of people from both sides would be affected.

"I hope it would continue to work as the bridge between the two sides and bring more young people in Taiwan to participate in cross-Straits cooperation."

Zhang also encouraged Taiwan companies to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Wang Ping-sheng, the association's new director and a Taiwan investor in the mainland, said: "No peace, no development. The 1992 Consensus is the cornerstone of peaceful cross-Straits relations. Our association will provide service to Taiwan companies, including helping them to work on the mainland and passing along their requests to the government. We hope to open a brighter future for cross-Straits cooperation."