Zheng Lizhong, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with a trade delegation from the Taiwan Federation of Industries (TFI) Monday.

Zheng welcomed the delegation headed by Chen Wu-hsiung and praised the federation and Chen for their contribution to cross-Strait economic and trade exchanges and cooperation.

He spoke about economic construction on the mainland and cross-Strait economic cooperation and called on Taiwan businessmen to invest in the mainland.

The trade delegation's seven-day trip to China began in Beijing on Monday afternoon. The delegation will also visit east China's Jiangsu province and Shanghai.

The federation consists of 142 industrial associations that have nearly 90,000 manufacturing businesses in Taiwan.