The Chinese mainland was scheduled to organize three buying teams to visit Taiwan for business talks and purchase of products and materials, Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), said on Wednesday.

The MOC, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were endeavoring to organize three economic and trade facilitation teams to visit Taiwan at the end of May, in mid-June and early July to deepen the mainland-Taiwan economic and trade ties, Yao said in a website statement.

Yao did not specify how many mainland businesses would visit Taiwan and how much they planned to spend, but he said they would mainly focus on purchasing folk handicraft, processed food, daily necessities, machinery equipment and raw materials.

Li Shuilin, head of the Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits, a non-governmental mainland institution, would head the first team to visit Taiwan, with business people from home appliance, light industry and food processing firms in the delegation. The delegation would also carry out business talks in Taiwan, according to the statement.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2009)