3rd LD-Writethru-China Focus: Cross-Strait economic forum held in Shanghai

The 10th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, a regular meeting between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, was held Sunday in Shanghai.

Yu Zhengsheng, top political advisor and senior leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Eric Chu, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), attended the opening ceremony.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Yu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, congratulated on the one-day forum.

In his speech, Yu said the mainland and Taiwan should discuss ways for the island to participate in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Talks could also encompass the Belt and Road Initiative and some regional economic cooperation opportunities, to develop the international market and improve the competitiveness of the whole Chinese economy, he said.

The two sides should assure the peaceful development of relations by adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence", according to Yu, who is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"Contact and exchange between young people from both sides will help them realize their dreams," Yu said, calling for a better deal for young people living, studying, working or starting businesses away from their hometowns on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, regardless of where they originate.

Yu asked the forum to continue its focus on welfare with exchanges of economic policy and industrial plans. Efforts to help ordinary people, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as farmers and fishermen should be considered, he said.

The forum should invite opinion from a wider spectrum of people to cover both major issues of cross-Strait development and specific practical matters.

Yu recalled that when the cross-Strait relations were experiencing a turbulent time 10 years ago, the first Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum was proposed by the CPC and the KMT with the two sides' resolve to contain "Taiwan independence" forces and seek historic reconciliation, cross-Strait peace and benefits for compatriots on both sides.

Over the last decade, the forum has always followed the 1992 Consensus, opposed "Taiwan independence" and acted as an important platform for CPC-KMT dialogue, Yu said, noting that the total 153 joint proposals reached at the forum, most of which have been turned into practical policies, have brought solid benefit to people on both sides.

Pledging better cross-Strait development, Chu said in his speech that the KMT would be held responsible by the public, the next generation and history.

He said the peaceful development must continue and efforts should be made on cross-Strait exchanges and to make the achievements in cross-Strait development accessible to more.

He said the KMT will work on the basis of the 1992 Consensus.

Sunday's forum, presided over by Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Huang Ming-hui, KMT vice chair, was attended by over 300 people including representatives of the two parties and some other political parties and groups, as well as businesspersons, scholars and young people from both sides of the Strait.

In his concluding statements, Zhang summed up suggestion proposed by the participants at panel discussions focusing on cooperation between the two sides' small and medium-sized enterprises, young people and general public at grassroots level, as well as exchanges on science and technology, culture and education.

Efforts are needed to promote the cross-Strait economic integration, pay more attention to how ordinary people feel about the development of ties between the two sides, create more opportunities for young students from the mainland and Taiwan to study, intern, work and start their own businesses, he said.

The KMT policy committee chief executive Lai Shyh-bao applauded the results of the forum while making his closing remarks, saying concrete and feasible proposals to continue cooperation across the Strait were outlined through face-to-face dialogues among attendees.

Ahead of the forum on Saturday, Yu met with Chu and his delegation. Chu's three-day visit to the mainland will be highlighted by his first meeting with Xi in Beijing on Monday. Endi