Mainland delegation departs Taiwan after reaching deals worth $2.2 bln

A delegation from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region ended a five-day visit to Taiwan Monday after reaching investment and trade contracts worth 2.23 billion U.S. dollars.

The two sides signed 70 investment contracts in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and logistics worth about 2 billion dollars, as well as 56 trade contracts worth 227 million dollars, said a statement from the regional government.

Of the trade contracts, 20 concerned imports from Taiwan to Guangxi and were worth 196 million dollars, the statement said.

"We have fulfilled the purpose of this visit and learned a lot about Taiwan," said Guo Shengkun, secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China, who headed the delegation, while waiting to depart at the airport.

"I found Chinese culture and traditions are strong in Taiwan. People either side of the Strait have much in common," he said.

In addition, Guo said he received a very warm welcome from locals, especially during his visits to villages.

"Such affection can be a very strong force pushing forward cross-Strait cooperation," he said. Guo himself from a Hakka family visited a Hakka village in central Taiwan during the visit.

The two sides should keep engaging in a peaceful and mutually beneficial way so that people on both sides can benefit, he said.

The delegation arrived in Taipei Thursday, the first mainland delegation after the two sides signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in Chongqing June 29.

Source: Xinhua