NANJING - More than 500 entrepreneurs and economists from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have gathered in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, to attend a cross-Straits business summit that opened on Wednesday.

Participants will exchange opinions on topics including cross-Straits industry cooperation.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Kuomintang Party, are attending the event.

Jia announced the opening of the summit.

During his speech at the summit, Lien called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to work together to deepen cross-Strait industrial cooperation and boost the competitiveness of industries on both sides.

He also urged more cooperation in fields such as emerging industries and the service industry, science and technology and brand marketing and promotion.

Moreover, the two sides should take concrete measures to implement the cross-Strait agreement on investment protection and promotion, Lien said.

The mainland's economy is very likely to meet the expected growth target this year, and it may be able to secure a growth rate of around 7 to 8 percent annually in the next 10 years or more, said Zeng Peiyan, chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The market for businesses on both sides of the Strait is still very large, he said.

Amid the backdrop of the current global economic situation, the two sides of the Strait should give more attention to cross-Strait economic cooperation and work together to overcome current difficulties, Zeng said.

Zeng said he hopes the summit will help to enhance communication among entrepreneurs on the two sides of the Strait and build a proper channel for non-governmental and high-level dialogues on economic strategy between the two sides.

Also at the summit, Wang Yi, director of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, encouraged entrepreneurs to join hands in building more internationally-competitive business brands and promoting the international standing of the economy of the Chinese nation.