China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), a shipping giant from the Chinese mainland, announced Sunday the establishment of its representative office in Taiwan, aiming to better coordinate with its counterparts in the island and jointly explore the international market.

This made COSCO the first State-owned shipping company in the mainland to set up an agency in the island.

COSCO's President and CEO Wei Jiafu said the office's opening ceremony on Sunday that "The representative office is just the first step. Our next goal is to set up a branch in Taiwan."

As the agency is not allowed to conduct business transactions at present, the three-member office will be engaged in getting better in touch with the island's business circles and seeking more business opportunities, according to the company.

Wei said COSCO's establishment of the office in the island was not aimed at capturing the Taiwan market but to better cooperate with Taiwan's shipping lines and offer better services for Taiwan companies.

"Our counterparts in Taiwan have given extensive support for the setting up of our representative office in the island," he said.

COSCO, which specializes in global shipping, modern logistics and ship building and repairing, is now China's largest shipping company.

Wei also said COSCO planned to invest in the island's Kaohsiung Port to improve its handling capacity.

COSCO held a naming ceremony in Kaohsiung Port on Sunday for its cargo ship COSCO Kaohsiung. The ship has a dead weight of about 115,000 tons.

Wei said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), signed by the mainland and Taiwan earlier this year, has brought huge commercial opportunities for the shipping industry across the Taiwan Straits, and the shipping companies from both sides should work together to expand the market.

The ECFA, aimed at establishing a systematic mechanism for enhancing cross-Straits economic cooperation, took effect on September 12 this year.

Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to gradually reduce and remove trade and investment barriers, and continue discussing agreements regarding commodities trade, services trade and investment.

At Sunday's ceremony, Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) Lien Chan said the establishment of COSCO's Taiwan office and other investments in the island were important moves in the shipping industry since the ECFA took effect.

COSCO's cargo ships, especially COSCO Kaohsiung, will help to raise the freight handling capacity of Kaohsiung Port and create more jobs for local residents, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2010)