The Chinese government plans to send as many as nine trade teams to Taiwan this year to buy agricultural and electronic products, part of a push to improve trade and help bolster Taiwan’s economy, a Chinese official said.
Chinese companies including Chaoda Modern Agriculture Holdings Ltd.(超大現代農業控股) will visit Taiwan between now and September, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Yang Yi (楊毅) said. They are likely to be interested in buying Taiwan’s tea, fruit, electronics and appliances, textiles and other products, he said.
“At a time when the global economy is struggling to recover from the global financial crisis, this is one step in helping to stimulate” trade and bolster consumption, Yang said yesterday at a televised press conference in Beijing.
A trade delegation from Guangxi Province visited Taiwan last Friday, returning yesterday with US$170 million in Taiwanese products, Yang said, without giving details.
A group of provincial trade chambers are scheduled to leave for Taiwan on Sunday to look into the island’s textiles and appliances, Yang said. Chinese TV makers could visit Taiwan on Monday to buy flat-panel displays, he said.
A group of companies from Fujian Province, including Hong Kong-traded Chaoda, will visit central and southern Taiwan to examine tea and orchard produce, Yang said. Another group may leave in September to buy agricultural products, he said.
The trade and culture promotion group from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said yesterday the just-concluded procurement mission in Taiwan was mutually beneficial and promised to return next year.
Ma Biao (馬飆), chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and leader of the delegation of more than 1,000 members from 27 industry sectors, made the remarks at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport prior to leaving Taiwan after concluding the week-long procurement visit.
“What surprised me most was that the Taiwanese side also placed orders with the delegation for Guangxi Products, although I had originally thought our trip to Taiwan would only be a unilateral purchase activity,” Ma said.
The two-way procurement orders totaled nearly NT$10 billion (US$281 million), with the Guangxi group placing orders worth US$201 million for Taiwanese goods and Taiwanese buyers ordering US$80 million worth of Guangxi products, Ma said.
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