Senior official Yu Zhengsheng on Wednesday called on entrepreneurs from both the mainland and Taiwan to contribute to advancing cross-Strait relations and opposing "Taiwan independence."
Yu made the remarks in a speech delivered at the closing of the third Zijinshan Summit for Entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. Yu is a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau and head of China's top political advisory body.
The peaceful development of mainland-Taiwan relations has not been easy and the most important factor must always be commitment to the political foundation -- upholding the 1992 Consensus centering on the one-China principle and opposing "Taiwan independence," said Yu. "Entrepreneurs across the Strait must make due contribution to safeguarding such common foundation."
If the foundation is abandoned, cross-Strait relations will suffer and the interests of people on both sides will be damaged, Yu added.
"All political parties and the public should put the interests of the nation and people first and choose the correct path," Yu told more than 850 business leaders, industry and commerce group officials and economists.
Yu called on them to be confident of the prospects of cross-Strait economic cooperation and encouraged them by the mainland's huge potential and resilience, mentioning the latest proposal for the 13th Five-Year Plan, the "Belt and Road" initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
He also called for closer and higher-level cooperation and encouraged more people to participate.
The Zijinshan Summit was first held in 2008. In 2013, the mainland and Taiwan each set up councils dedicated to the platform for business exchange and cooperation.
The participants announced a shared initiative after the summit, which would expand cooperation to cover sectors including energy, mechanical equipment, technology, finance and health.
The two sides will actively explore how Taiwan's middle- and small-sized companies can participate in the mainland-initiated "Belt and Road" initiative and other programs.
Entrepreneurs will also discuss cooperation in oil and gas; solar photovoltaic; and environment protection. They will promote the signing of an agreement on organ donation across the Strait, the initiative said.
