Cross-Strait trade saw substantial growth over past decade: mainland spokesperson

A Chinese mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday that the upward momentum in cross-Strait economic, trade cooperation and integrated development is unstoppable, citing the growth figures for cross-Strait trade over the past 10 years.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a press inquiry regarding the rising trend of exports from Taiwan to the mainland, as well as the investment on the mainland by Taiwan businesses.

In light of the unstoppable momentum, Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority should remove barriers that thwart economic and trade cooperation across the Strait and create a better climate for such exchanges, said Zhu.

According to official statistics, the trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan rose to over 328.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, more than doubling the figure for 2011. The mainland still remains Taiwan's largest export market and source of trade surplus, said Zhu.

The total amount of Taiwan-invested business projects on the mainland reached 123,781 by the end of 2021, with over 71.3 billion U.S. dollars in actual investment. In stark contrast, the amount of investment in Taiwan by mainland businesses stood at around 3.7 billion U.S. dollars by the end of last year due to a series of new hurdles created by the DPP authority, Zhu added.

However, the solid basis, necessity and dynamism of cross-Strait economic and trade cooperation, as well as the well-being yielded by it, can never be altered by these politically-motivated barriers or the impact of the pandemic, Zhu said.