Jia hopes follow-up ECFA talks bear fruit earlier

China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin on Tuesday expressed hope that new achievements will come quickly in the follow-up talks on implementing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a wide-ranging cross-Strait economic pact signed in 2010. Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks while meeting with delegates to a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of The Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM). Continuous and greater efforts will be made to create conditions favorable for Taiwanese investments and protect legitimate interests of Taiwanese investors on the mainland, according to Jia. It has been proven that promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations on the basis of opposing "Taiwan independence" and sticking to the "1992 consensus" is in the interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and that of the Chinese nation, Jia said. "To consolidate and deepen the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, which are now faced with new opportunities, entails concerted efforts from compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," Jia said. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan should continue to improve political mutual trust, promote personnel exchanges and improve mutually beneficial economic cooperation, according to Jia. In addition to the ECFA follow-up talks, the mainland will also make efforts to deepen cross-Strait cooperation in the financial sector, encourage more mainland enterprises to invest in Taiwan and promote cross-Strait industrial cooperation, Wang Yi, director of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said during a reception celebrating the ATIEM's fifth anniversary. Mainland authorities will continue to support Taiwanese entrepreneurs' business start-up efforts on the mainland, and the expanding economy and market on the mainland will provide promising prospects for their businesses, Wang said. Moreover, Taiwanese businesses are welcomed to join hands with their mainland counterparts in exploring the global market, Wang said.