Mainland, Taiwan sign co-op deals at forum

GANZHOU, Jiangxi - A total of 75 cooperation deals were signed, with an investment of $3.94 billion, by people from the mainland and Taiwan at a cross-Straits forum on trade and culture on Tuesday.

"Strengthening economic cooperation is in line with the common interests of compatriots from both sides," said Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China and director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, in the city of Ganzhou in East China's Jiangxi province.

Zhang said 19 trade and economic agreements have been reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits since 2008, and they have largely boosted across-strait relations.

"The fact is that signing agreements is an effective way to eliminate institutional obstacles which hinder the development of trade cooperation, and more economic collaboration is expected," he added.

Wu Poh-Hsiung, honorary chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang Party, also expressed his joy over the cooperation between the two sides.

Lu Xinshe, governor of Jiangxi, said the province will provide more support to Taiwan enterprises to invest in the province in order to beef up cooperation in trade, culture, education and tourism.

At the forum, experts also exchanged ideas on the development of the Hakka languages and culture, as Taiwan and Ganzhou are both home to Hakka people, a sub-group of the Han Chinese ethnicity.

More than 1,000 entrepreneurs and experts across the Straits attended the forum.