The signing ceremony of economic and trade cooperation projects of the Chongqing-Taiwan Week is held in Chongqing, southwest China, May 28, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    CHONGQING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland would take further measures to boost economic cooperation with Taiwan in a joint effort to cope with the global economic downturn, a senior official said here Thursday.

    The comment came from Wang Yi, director of the State Council (Cabinet) Taiwan Affairs Office, at the opening ceremony of the Chongqing-Taiwan Week in the southwest municipality.

    He said there would be talks about cooperation in the telecommunications, semiconductor lighting and wind power sectors.

    The Communist Party of China Central Committee general secretary Hu Jintao said during a meeting with Kuomintang Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Beijing Tuesday that jointly tackling the impact of the global downturn was the top priority of both sides.

Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (L FRONT) and Chen Yunlin (R FRONT), president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), attend the opening ceremony of the Chongqing-Taiwan Week in Chongqing, southwest China, May 28, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    According to Wang, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have already discussed the potential for cooperation in Chinese traditional medicine, solar energy and auto electronic products.

    The mainland will organize seven to nine purchasing teams to Taiwan between May and September to help develop the island economy during the global downturn.

    The official also said the mainland would encourage more of its citizens to visit Taiwan, estimating that the total number of mainland tourists to the island this year would exceed 600,000.

    The mainland also encouraged more Taiwan enterprises to operate in the mainland and would offer more financial, tax and technical support, he said.

    Wang said the mainland was studying the possibility of establishing an economic cooperation mechanism that would meet the needs of economic development on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

    "We will try to start talks on a framework pact on cross-Straits economic cooperation in the second half of this year," said Wang.

    Chongqing Municipality signed 49 cooperative agreements here Thursday with Taiwan enterprises that were in the delegation headed by Wu.

    The agreements, worth a total of 38.3 billion yuan (5.63 billion U.S. dollars), included 25.3 billion yuan related to financial services.

    Wu said the Kuomintang Party clearly advocated peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

    At the invitation of CPC Central Committee general secretary Hu Jintao, Wu and his delegation arrived in Beijing on Monday and came to Chongqing on Wednesday for the second stop of their mainland visit.

    Wu said the Chongqing-Taiwan Week provided an opportunity for greater cooperation and Chongqing was expected to become a new hot spot favored by Taiwan investors.

    Wu also hailed the measures taken by the mainland, such as sending purchasing team to Taiwan, which he said would have important impact on Taiwan's economic recovery and market confidence recovery.

    Bo Xilai, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CPC, told the ceremony that the municipality would provide better services for cross-Straits conferences, exhibitions and forums and would help promote sales of Taiwan commodities in west China by taking advantage of the city's Cuntan bonded zone.

    Chongqing has been designated by the central government to become the economic center of the areas along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and an important region of economic growth in western China, Bo said, adding this would provide broader room for Chongqing-Taiwan cooperation.

    According to the municipal government, trade between Chongqing and Taiwan exceeded 200 million U.S. dollars last year.

Hu meets visiting KMT chairman, achieving "important progress"

    BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung here Tuesday afternoon, achieving "important progress" on cross-Strait issues.

    The two agreed to further implement the common prospects for peaceful cross-Strait development, agreed by leaders of the two parties in 2005, said a statement issued after their meeting. Full story

Hu says Taiwan's participation in WHA shows mainland sincerity 

   BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) showed sincerity from the Chinese mainland, said Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, here Tuesday.

    Taiwan's participation in the WHA indicated Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have the ability and wisdom to properly solve issues concerning the island's participation in activities of international institutions, he said at a meeting with visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung. Full story

Mainland expects to start talking about cross-Strait economic pact after June

    BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland expects talks about a cross-Strait economic cooperation agreement to start in the latter half of this year, said President Hu Jintao here Tuesday.

    "Both sides should push forwards the preparation work for signing the agreement," said Hu, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at a meeting with visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung.  Full story

Visiting KMT chairman discusses economic co-op with Beijing official

Liu Qi (R), member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chief of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, meets with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Beijing, capital of China, on May 26, 2009.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung met Beijing Party head Liu Qi Tuesday morning to discuss economic cooperation between Taiwan and the city.

    "There will be a wide range of cooperation potential," said Liu Qi, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee, as he introduced to Wu the cooperation and exchanges between Taiwan and Beijing. Full story 

Top political advisor meets KMT chairman

Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, shakes hands with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 25, 2009.(Xinhua/Li Xueren) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese top political advisor Jia Qinglin met with Taiwan-based Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and his delegation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Monday afternoon.

    Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the cross-Straits relationship had made breakthroughs after a historic turning point in the past year. Full story

KMT Chairman visits Huguang Guildhall in Beijing

Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (L, Front), receives a gift, a Beijing opera mask of Guanyu who is general serving under the warlord Liubei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China, at Huguang Guildhall in Beijing, capital of China, on May 25, 2009.  (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

KMT chairman begins eight-day Chinese mainland visit

Wang Yi (R, Front), director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, shakes hands with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on May 25, 2009. A KMT delegation headed by Wu arrived in Beijing on Monday for an visit on the mainland. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung arrived in Beijing Monday noon, at the start of an eight-day visit to the mainland.

    Wang Yi, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, welcomed him at Beijing Capital Airport. Full story

Taiwan leader vows to improve cross-Straits relations 
    TAIPEI, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou says improving mainland-Taiwan relations and building cross-Straits peace will be a priority for the island in the next few years.

    Ma made the remark at a Tuesday press conference held in Taipei to mark his one year in office.Full story 

Senior official urges "most broad-based" cross-Straits exchanges

    XIAMEN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- China's top political adviser Jia Qinglin on Sunday called for the "most broad-based" exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan for the peaceful development of cross-Straits ties.

    "We should promote the cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation to the most broad-based spheres and to the grassroots level, and encourage the involvement of the public to the maximum extent," said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Full story

Chinese mainland to send businesses to Taiwan to discuss investment plans

    XIAMEN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will soon send its businesses in various industries to visit Taiwan to discuss investment plans amid efforts to help the island cope with the global economic downturn, the mainland's Taiwan affairs chief WangYi said Sunday.

    Meanwhile, the mainland will encourage Taiwan businesses to expand market on the mainland and participate in the mainland's construction of infrastructure and key projects, said Wang, director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a centerpiece conference of the Straits Forum that opened in the southeastern city of Xiamen on Saturday.  Full story

China's top political advisor meets cross-Straits forum guests

    XIAMEN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin met people of all circles from both sides of the Taiwan Straits attending the largest-yet unofficial cross-Straits forum Saturday afternoon.

    The week-long Straits Forum that kicked off on Saturday evening was attended by more than 8,000 Taiwan guests. It features 18 activities including a centerpiece conference, a trade fair, a cultural week, a tourism forum and a seminar on traditional Chinese medicine.  Full story

Mainland, Taiwan start largest-yet cross-Straits forum on former frontline

Guests from the Chinese mainland and southeast China's Taiwan attend the opening ceremony of the Straits Forum in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, May 16, 2009. More than 8,000 Taiwan guests have arrived for the forum and related activities. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo Gallery>>>

    XIAMEN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Taiwan Saturday kicked off the largest-yet unofficial cross-Straits forum and carnival at a place which used to be the frontline of Communist-Kuomintang rivalry decades ago.

    Fireworks glittered the skies above the Taiwan Straits, and music and applause overflowed from the Exhibition and Convention Center of Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern Fujian Province which faces Taiwan across the sea and was the frontline of mainland-Taiwan artillery duels from the 1950s till the 1970s.  Full story

Chinese mainland to open five more ports for direct shipping with Taiwan

    XIAMEN, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will open five more ports for direct shipping service with Taiwan, bringing the total such ports to 68, a mainland transport official said Saturday.

    The ports to be opened are in the provinces of Anhui, Shandong and Zhejiang, said Song Dexing, director of the Water Transport Department with the Ministry of Transport, at a round table meeting on direct shipping across the Taiwan Straits.  Full story

KMT vice chairman says cross-Straits forum "significant" for future development of mainland, Taiwan

    XIAMEN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chu Li-lun, vice chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Party, said here Saturday the Straits Forum, as the first "grassroots" exchange event between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, is "significant" for the future development of the two sides and deepening of mutual understanding.

    Chu, who is in the mainland city Xiamen to attend the Straits Forum that opens Saturday evening, told reporters the exchanges between the public of the two sides will also play an important role in facilitating economy and trade and pushing for joint efforts to cope with financial crisis.  Full story