国内英语新闻:Mainland delegation returns from Taiwan after cultural festival

TAIPEI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Luo Qingquan, Communist Party of China (CPC) chief in central China's Hubei Province, left Taiwan Monday with a one-thousand-strong delegation after an eight-day visit to the island, expressing confidence in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

"The visit was very smooth and fruitful... I'm expecting Hubei and Taiwan to carry out more exchanges and boost cooperation," Luo said as he departed the island.

Luo's delegation arrived here on April 19 for a Hubei-Taiwan cultural festival filled with exhibitions, forums and performances featuring Hubei culture.

Luo said the two regions reached a consensus on exchange and cooperation in economic, scientific, technological and cultural fields.

He noted Taiwan's advanced farm-products processing technology could be well applied in Hubei, a province rich in agriculture.

During the trip, the delegation also visited medium- and small-sized companies, farm and schools in Taipei, Taichung, Yunlin and Hsinchu.

The Hubei-Taiwan festival has been held in Hubei's capital Wuhan six times since 2004. It was the first time the event was held on the island.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have been recently intensifying their exchanges, especially high-level visits to the island by mainland delegations, which is seen as a sign of increasingly solid relations.

Earlier this month, a municipal government delegation of about 260 people headed by Shanghai mayor Han Zheng visited the island to promote the upcoming Shanghai World Expo.

During the trip, several Shanghai companies and Taiwanese counterparts signed 28 agreements on long-term exchanges and short-term purchases, along with agreements on investments in finance, chemical materials, steel, tourism, intellectual property rights and farm products, among others.