Mainland-Taiwan trade achieves progress: spokesperson

BEIJING - A mainland spokesperson said Wednesday that the mainland would bring up new policies to promote Taiwan investment and boost cross-Straits cooperation in 2017.

"The mainland is still Taiwan's largest trade partner and the biggest source of exports and trade surplus," said Ma Xiaoguang, with the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference.

"The mainland is the best choice for Taiwan industrial and commercial circles to develop business, and no force will stop or weaken the promising future of the win-win situation of cross-Straits economic cooperation," added Ma.

In the first 11 months of 2016, the mainland approved 3,072 Taiwan-funded projects, up 19.58 percent year on year, with the use of Taiwan capital reaching $1.69 billion, up 17 percent, according to the latest Ministry of Commerce figures.

Trade volume between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan reached $161.38 billion from January to November last year, down 4.9 percent year on year.

At the press conference, Ma was asked about a media report that several thousand Taiwan enterprises had left the city of Dongguan in South China's Guangdong province.

Ma said that the report did not accord with the facts. By the end of November 2016, a total of 3,438 Taiwan enterprises were under operation in Dongguan, and most were manufacturing companies with advanced technology.

In recent years, investment from Taiwan enterprises continued to grow. In 2016, a total of 93 projects were approved in the city, with Taiwan capital reaching $287 million.