A Chinese mainland business delegation signed deals to purchase Taiwan products worth more than US$2.2 billion after a four-day visit to the island, it was announced on Thursday.

Orders involving US$827 million of products would be filled by July, and products worth of US$1.4 billion would be delivered by the end of this year, said Li Shuilin, head of the delegation.

On their shopping list are LCD (liquid crystal display) equipment, spare parts for mobile phones and computers, plastic and chemical products, textiles and handcrafts, he said.

The group, organized by the Mainland Association for Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Exchanges, comprised about 80 representatives of 35 companies, including IT and home appliance giants Lenovo, Haier, Changhong and ZTE.

Their buying spree was seen as a symbolic step to expand trade ties between the mainland and Taiwan and to offset the effects of the global economic downturn.

The mainland businesses held talks with more than 300 Taiwan firms in Taipei and Kaohsiung to learn more about their products and market potential in the mainland.

They also discussed how to use their reciprocal advantages to reinforce manufacturing capacities of both the mainland and Taiwan, Li said.

Also on Thursday, telecommunication industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait agreed to tap mobile telecommunication markets, particularly the mainland's newly-launched 3G (third generation mobile telecommunication) market.

A total of 17 telecommunication service providers and 30 equipment manufacturers of the mainland were invited to attend a forum in Taipei this week.

Datang Telecom, a mainland telecommunication equipment vendor, signed an agreement on cooperation with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). They will discuss the possibility of a pilot network in Taiwan using Datang's TD-SCDMA 3G mobile telecommunications standard.

"We see a lot of opportunities for cooperation as the mainland is fast developing its 3G market," said Liu Liqing, chairman of the China Association of Communications Enterprises.

Johnsee Lee, president of the ITRI, also said the discussions would help local equipment producers better understand the market potential and industrial standards in the mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2009)