期待未来两岸合作

Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, Wang Yu-chi, will lead a delegation to the Chinese mainland on Tuesday. The talks are aimed at developing cross-strait relations and deepening mutual political trust.

For 57-year-old Taiwan businessman Yang Jinfa, coffee is not just a beverage, but a chain business with worth hundreds of million Yuan. He began investing in the manufacturing industry in the Chinese mainland in 1989 and founded C. Straits Cafe in 2003. Running a service business was not easy for companies from Taiwan in the past, as they were not allowed to register or buy property without a partner from the mainland.

“The mainland is open to small-sized companies thanks to the service trade agreement, but there are still restrictions for bigger companies. We are calling for more opening of the service business market, as the demand is so strong and it is a trend for us to shift from manufacturing to the service industry.” Yang said.

The Shanghai Landseed International Hospital was founded in 2012. It is the first wholly Taiwan-funded and owned medical institution in the mainland. It is a direct result of the Cross-straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement. However, the hospital can’t employ doctors from Taiwan, as their qualifications are not recognized in the medical system here.

"The lack of supporting polices for personnel exchanges has always been the problem. We want to see more new policies to solve these problems. For us, efficiency in carrying out the agreement is as important as the benefits from it." Victor Chang, President of Shanghai Landseed International Hospital, said.

Relaxation of cross-strait travel in the past few years has benefited businesses on both sides.

A record number of more than 8 million people traveled across the Taiwan Straits in 2013 amid closer ties between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, thanks to polices to encourage tourism exchanges.

Spring Airlines became the first budget airline in the mainland to fly directly to Taiwan last October. Since 2011, residents in more and more mainland cities have been allowed to travel to the island as individual tourists. They are calling for higher quotas in the cross-strait direct transportation link.

"We want to fly to more cites on the island besides Taipei and Kaohsiung, but can’t due to the current limits. We also want to invest and set up a company there in the future." Spring Airlines spokesman Zhang Wuan said.

The economic cooperation across the Taiwan Straits has been enhanced by a series of agreements in the past decades. Businessmen from both sides hope it will be pushed forward by validating and implementing these agreements in the future.