BEIJING. Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The indirect trade across the Taiwan Straits exceeded 70 billion US dollars for the first time in 2004, up 34.2 percent year-on-year, said Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council, here Wednesday.

    The contract investment of Taiwanese companies in the Chinese mainland reached 9.3 billion US dollars last year, up 8.74 percent over 2003, Li said at a regular press conference.

    In 2004, 3.686 million Taiwan residents visited the mainland and 145,000 residents from the mainland visited Taiwan, up 34.9 percent and 14.2 percent year-on-year respectively. Enditem