Taiwan

Mainland plans $200-million purchase in Taiwan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-03 09:30

TAIPEI - Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region plans to buy farm produce and machinery worth $200 million from Taiwan, Guo Shengkun, the region's Communist Party of China (CPC) chief, said Friday.

Guangxi, known for its farm produce including fruits, would like to purchase more farm produce in Taiwan, Guo said at a press conference in Taipei.

"I don't think imports from Taiwan will affect our own farmers as Taiwan has an earlier harvest season for fruits than Guangxi and the quality of its fruits are really good for high-end markets," he said.

Guo, leading a delegation of more than 1,000 people, arrived in Taipei Thursday for a five-day visit. The delegation was the first mainland delegation after the two sides signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing on Tuesday.

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The two sides can adopt an arrangement of regular purchases, Guo said. "When a delegation comes, the two sides would reach deals but, without visiting delegations, we just don't get in touch. This is not good."

In the past five months, trade between Taiwan and Guangxi has shown strong momentum. The import and export volume reached 106 million dollars, doubling from the same period last year.

Also, exports from Taiwan to Guangxi increased by year-on-year 188 percent to $73 million.

Guo also urged more Taiwan businesses to invest in Guangxi and jointly explore, with local businesses, opportunities in Southeast Asian markets.

"If Taiwan companies invest in Guangxi, they will enjoy lower labor costs and cheap natural resources from Southeast Asian countries," he said at a forum held here Friday afternoon.

The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area took effect on January 1 this year and the average duty level on ASEAN imported products has been reduced from 9.8 percent to 0.1 percent.

A string of mainland delegations have visited Taiwan since last year, most of which having reached purchase deals with Taiwan business, as one of the efforts to help Taiwan survive the impacts of global downturn.

In June, the delegation of eastern Zhejiang Province negotiated a deal to buy farm produce worth 31 million yuan ($4.56 million) and also promised to increase this year's import from Taiwan to $10 billion.

In May, the delegation of southwestern Sichuan Province reached purchase agreements worth 8.09 billion yuan ($1.19 billion), including electronic, chemical, machinery and farm products.