Jia Qinglin (R, front), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Kuomintang (KMT) honorary chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (3rd L), attend the conclusion ceremony of the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, a regular forum between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2011. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
CHENGDU -- The seventh Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum closed Sunday in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the adoption of 19 proposals for the promotion of cross-Strait cooperation in various fields.
Participants from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan urged authorities of from both sides to seize the opportunities brought about by the mainland's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) and Taiwan's "golden decade" blueprint (2011-2020) to further improve economic cooperation and seek common development and prosperity.
They urged the two sides to actively implement the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and its early harvest program, which took effect last September and this January, respectively, and make substantial progress in related follow-up discussions to gradually realize normalization and liberalization of cross-Strait economic ties.
Participants suggested the mainland and Taiwan improve cooperation and exchanges in nuclear power safety, share related information, increase cooperation between professional institutes, and have in-depth exchanges on nuclear power emergency management and security technology, according to a document released after the forum concluded.
Additionally, participants called on the two sides to further push forward cooperation in such sectors as culture, finance, agriculture, investment, education and youth exchanges.
Jia Qinglin, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, spoke highly of the forum when addressing the closing ceremony.
"The forum again shows the importance of the exchange platform between the CPC and the Kuomintang (KMT)," said Jia, also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Jia said this year will be crucial for the development of the continuing cross-Strait ties.
Efforts should be made to steer cross-Strait ties in the right direction, Jia said, urging the mainland and Taiwan to continue safeguarding the political foundation of jointly opposing "Taiwan independence" and sticking to the 1992 Consensus, increase mutual trust and remain good interaction, in a bid to create sound conditions for the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties.
The two sides should value the fruitful cooperation in these three years, and try to achieve new agreements during future negotiation on cross-Strait issues, using facts to prove that the relations were improving and enjoyed great potentials, Jia said.
He urged compatriots from both sides to remove various types of interference and create better conditions for future development of cross-Strait ties.
KMT honorary chairman Wu Poh-hsiung said when addressing the ceremony that Taiwan and the mainland should expand cooperation to maximize benefits for both sides.
"We should cement mutual trust, seek common ground while reserving differences, and treasure the hard-won peaceful development of cross-Strait ties," Wu said.
The mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, Wang Yi, said at the ceremony that the proposals adopted at the forum would help people from both sides, especially those at the grassroots level, benefit from the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties.
Wang, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the forum played a guiding role in pushing forward the relations between the mainland and Taiwan.
The two sides should keep policies stable and safeguard the general situation of the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, he said.
"I was impressed by the proposals on educational and cultural cooperation, as well as the youth exchanges between the two sides of the Strait," Chin Ching-Sheng, secretary-general of Taiwan's People First Party, told Xinhua after the conclusion of the forum.
"If we say that economic and trade cooperation is bringing the two sides 'hand in hand', the culture exchanges are making them feel 'heart to heart', and the youth exchanges provide indispensable momentum for the future development of cross-Strait relations," he said.
The forum and the adopted joint proposal had a great focus on the people's lives on both sides of the Strait, and the most remarkable example is the inclusion of nuclear power safety cooperation issues in the forum topics and the proposals, said Sheng Jiuyuan, a research fellow with the mainland-based Shanghai Pudong Institute for the Taiwan Economy.
With joint proposals to actively implement the ECFA, along with other measures to protect investors' rights, business owners from Taiwan will feel more reassured when they come to the mainland market, said Xu Zhisheng, a business owner from Taiwan who is now running a company in Shanghai.
About 450 representatives and experts from both sides attended the two-day forum.
