Taiwan, mainland hold forum on cross-Straits cooperation

Taiwan and the Chinese mainland held a forum on expanding cross-Straits cooperation in cultural and creative industries on Tuesday.

The forum was part of activities associated with the visit of Chen Yunlin, the mainland top negotiator on cross-Straits affairs, who arrived in Taipei on Monday. He is on a 10-day tour of the island designed to expand cultural cooperation between the two sides.

Chen, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), co-hosted the forum in the Grand Hotel of Taipei.

Both Chen and Chiang highlighted the favorable conditions for the two sides to jointly develop cultural and creative industries. They expressed their hope that Taiwan and the mainland would work together and achieve a win-win situation through cooperation.

Chiang said that cross-Strait cooperation between Taiwan and the mainland, which share a common language and culture, would surely benefit each other.

He added that the two sides could work together to develop related industries and explore the global market.

Chen noted that the cultural and creative industries have enjoyed fast growth on the mainland in the last decade, registering an average annual growth rate of 24 percent, higher than the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the same period.

He said the mainland had seen a great number of middle income consumers emerge in the last three decades after it adopted the policy of reform and opening up. These relatively affluent consumers constitute a promising market for cultural and creative industries both in Taiwan and the mainland.

With proper policy backing, innovation and talent, the development of cultural and creative industries could serve as a new engine of economic growth, Chen added.

The ARATS delegation led by Chen includes policy-makers, business executives, academics and experts associated with cultural and creative industries.

As a result of the talks, Chen and Chiang signed two key agreements on investment protection and customs cooperation.

According to Chen's schedule, the ARATS president and his delegation will travel across the island, visiting places ranging from New Taipei City in the north to the southern resort town of Kenting.

Founded in 1991 and 1990, respectively, the ARATS and the SEF are authorized by the mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait affairs.

This is Chen's second visit to Taiwan in just over a month. He paid a three-day visit to the island in August and held the eighth round of talks between the ARATS and the SEF.